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The One About DCI Drumming & Back to Band Camp
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To hear the rest of the episode go to anywhere you get your podcasts and look for On A Water Break
Join our hosting panel as they talk about all the 2024 DCI Drum Line Ups and we are going back to Band Camp and the start of the season, we have all the inside scoop you are looking for. Our hosts bring you their stories, plus news, guests, and so much more!
Special Guests
Tony Rideout - @tride75
Jeff Ream - @reamjeff
Meet 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_
Bill Woodward - @remoking100
Emily Nee - @tch.makes.art
Ricardo Robinson-Shinall - @ricardorrobinson
Austin Hall - @Austin_hall10
Jose Montes - @joeymontes57
Bobbey Biddle - @bobbeyboy107
Music provided by leydamusic.com Follow him @josh.leyda
Avatars provided by @tch.makes.art
Featuring
Lexi Duda - Host for On A Water Break In Rhinestones - The Stories of the Twirlers @lexi_duda
Thank you also to @guardcloset
#marchingband #colorguard #dci #podcast #onawaterbreak #wgi #drumline
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Transcript
Introductions and Season Overview
00:00:01
Speaker
Hey everyone, we are back for another exciting rehearsal this week, and we are in the midst of all things Drum Corps and marching band. Our hosts are ready to get you through it, so we're gonna find out what made Ricardo say. Or at least growing it, maybe they don't go on another weekend, maybe go in the week in between. So it's like literally a full like week and a half long event. That would be fantastic. And why Trish said, I hate to say it, one of the best endings of DCI this year. All this and more so get out on the field and we will see you back on the sidelines for this week's episode of On A Water Break.
00:00:36
Speaker
a off the met and go welcome to on a water
Panelist Introductions and Event Excitement
00:00:53
Speaker
Welcome to another episode of season two 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 i'm stephen mccarrick And here we are almost the end of the dci season getting ready for another season of marching band yet again We've got a great group to help get you through it this month and we've got some great stories some great advice So let's see who we've got on the sidelines this week. We've got trish back with us once again Hi, everyone. How you doing? Good. How are you? I'm good. I'm excited. We got a lot of Northeast shows. Finally, it's here. Yeah, I've been waiting.
00:01:35
Speaker
The ah the best marching fans in the world have been waiting for it to come up to Allentown, Pennsylvania. Oh, I know. I am going to be I think I'm going to see like four shows in seven days. It's great. It's awesome. excited I will be at East both nights, so I'm excited. Cool. I will have to find you because I've been the worst and I haven't found you yet. All good. We're going to have a little reunion.
Managing Busy Schedules in Marching Arts
00:01:59
Speaker
It's all good. Cool. Yeah. Little on a water break reunion at Allentown. I know someone who listens to this is going to be there. It's got to be, um, but Ricardo,
00:02:12
Speaker
I can't believe I actually get the chance to talk to you here. I know, I know. I'm home for just a few days to to teach my home kids here for Bandcamp and actually get my classroom prepared because um I will be at DCI week during pre-planning. So I'm trying to teach 12-hour Bandcamp days and get my classroom ready and keep up with everything that's going on with the drum corps and get ready to see you guys at Allentown on Friday night. I'm so excited. Yes. It's gonna be a good time.
00:02:45
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Yeah, you've been keeping busy. I want to talk more about Academy later on, but ah how long do you roll like right into school after you get done with ah like DCI and Bandcamp? So here's the crazy thing for all of the listeners out there. You know, ah for those of you know, this is my first year as the caption head. I have been away from my house for six weeks. i have I went on vacation for a week and I did teach the music for our camp for a week, but I have effectively been gone from my house for six weeks. I got home last night at 9 PM, watched a little TV on my couch and cuddled with my puppy dog, went to sleep, woke up and went to band camp. and Then I go back this week for the last week. I land on Sunday afternoon at 1 o'clock PM on Sunday and then I have children in my classroom.
00:03:35
Speaker
on Monday morning at 7.30. God bless. Oh my God. Yeah. It's a little crazy right now. you know and This is where all of the the prep and planning and all of the the years of experience are going to come into play because I'm going to be running on fumes and I'm going to get through it because you know what? We are band people and this is what we do. That's dedication right there, but I expect nothing less from you. Is it dedication or is it insanity?
00:04:08
Speaker
Don't ask questions. We don't want to know the answer. All right. And we've got some great ah guest clinicians with us tonight as well. We've got Jeff Reem in the house. Oh, Jeff, you might be on mute. Oops. Hello there. There we go. Jeff, good to have you on the show. Yes, good to be back. Yeah, I think we ah we may have done a 32 count life story before, but why don't we do a quick one? We'll throw the metronome under and you can just bring our listeners back up to speed in case they didn't get to meet you last time. You ready to give it a go? Hi, Jeffrey, McAntersburg, Pennsylvania, more frequently with the DCAF podcast group. Since last time, the most exciting thing I've been doing is I went to Disneyland and built a lightsaber two weeks ago.
00:04:59
Speaker
Nice. It's good to not get stuck on band all the time. You got to get out the house, got to build some lightsabers every once in a while. Believe it or not, we did not see the Disneyland marching band the whole trip. So, yeah. Is that good or bad for you guys? I don't know. We just never saw. So this was Disneyland, California, Disney. California, yes. Nice. Totally different vibe and a lot cooler than Florida. oh Really? Yeah.
00:05:28
Speaker
There's a reason why SoCal has a lot of DCI shows and Florida doesn't. Cause it's literally cooler is what you're saying. Yeah. A lot less humidity. Yeah. I didn't pick up on that at first. I thought you were like hating on Disney world or something. It's not cool enough. No, it's, it's, it's fine. It's just, you know, Florida in July sucks. I agree. I agree. So does Texas in July, but it seems as though it's been going decent for some of these drum cores down there. uh tony we've also got tony on the sidelines with us tony ride out who hi everybody i believe you're new to the show right tony i am i get a full 32 and i'm nervous already about this oh prepare myself to to do it's not that bad i got done in 30 the first time okay well i think you'll fill it up pretty well why don't we give it a go
00:06:25
Speaker
Hi, I'm Tony Rideout. um I got started in this whole crazy marching arts thing by marching the Reading Buccaneer in 1995. I marched the Cadets of Bergen County. You have to add the Bergen County because there is a difference. um And then I've talked groups like Crown and Crossman and Boston and the Hawthorne Caballeros. And I ended my drummer career at C2. Yeah. How much time do I have left? That's right. I got here. That's all we got. Well, that's we've got some space, I think. But there we go. That was what I knew you from, man. It was a.
00:07:01
Speaker
It's cool to me. Cause I think, were you teaching the tubas at C2? I don't know that I could name another tuba tech or really another brass tech, honestly, from like most of my marching career. But like you were such a positive and exciting, just like force to be reckoned with. You stood out, I think to everyone in the core, whether it was a a tuba player or anyone else in the entire ensemble. Thank you. I appreciate that. Thank you very much. I was super excited. Trish put in our group chat, she was like, so what about, do you guys know Tony Rideout? He was asking me if about maybe hopping on the call and I was like, yes, immediately. Yes. But I learned some of the colorful language that I did because we have rules against that now. We'll do that now.
00:07:55
Speaker
Uh, it was, uh, something worked for it though. Cause C2 was, uh, some magic back then, man. That was a yeah ah special little DCA core back in its day, but they certainly were. All right. While we get into the news here. a little
WGI Innovations and Community Traditions
00:08:22
Speaker
Trish, I think you've got a an actual kind of cool story to get us started, right? I do. So I received um my regular director's email. from WGI i today, in fact. And I was really um surprised and happy to see that. They're really trying to build up the wins category. And for the 2025 and 2026 WGI seasons, wins groups new to WGI competition, or a returning group that hasn't participated since 2022,
00:08:56
Speaker
Can it enjoy one free event registration and for those of you who've ever registered a guard in a god guard or a group Caution wins in a WGI event. It is not cheap. So this is really really great for them to do yeah um The wins director Wayne Dylan is actually their new director. Um was quoted as saying, our goal is to show more directors that there is an outlet worth pursuing with your music program. um Removing the financial barrier for entry allows you to bring your program and witness the incredible and positive effect that WGI wins has had on groups of young performers and musicians. So if you're interested in doing that, um head over to WGI dot.org and you know go go register in an event and give it a whirl.
00:09:49
Speaker
Yeah, be a first mover. I mean, you're not a first mover. There's like there's a lot of groups already, but this thing is growing. ah Anytime we thought we have guests on and they talk to us about like what WGI wins is turning into, it gets me so excited because it's like every year, is it's just huge steps in front of what it was last year every time. Yeah. I can remember back in the day. when percussion was brand new to WGI and they were growing that whole thing. And I mean, look at where it's come now. This is a huge, huge thing for some of these groups. I know a couple of the groups around here um have wins teams, but they don't ever do any of the WGI shows because it's so expensive.
00:10:33
Speaker
But once you start competing in that WGI realm and you get to see some of those top tier groups, that's inspiration for your kids. That's going to push your kids to want to be better. I know my my program grew exponentially when I started taking my kids to WGI and they were seeing the best of the best. And groups that they don't you know see every weekend at shows, you know it's inspiring to them. So I'm excited to see what's going to happen with the wins teams. I'm excited to see the growth that's going to happen. I'm excited to see the creativity that's going to come out of this. This is a good thing for the pageantry arts. Yeah, totally. It's cool.
00:11:10
Speaker
Never would have expected we'd have like subsidies for the marching arts kind of, but like, it's awesome that we can grow the activity out that way. And I think we might need it because like something that I worry about, I remember we used to talk on tour about like, is this even going to be feasible as we move on? And like, it seems like each summer is hotter and hotter than the summer before things get more and more expensive. Like I almost look at WGI winds growing as like, that's the lifeline. for like the whole marching arts just is maybe WGI as we go on and on. It's gonna need another weekend if it keeps growing. you Yeah, yeah, you're right, actually, totally. That's a good thing. Three weekends of David Jack competition, you know, for a world championships competition, I think that that's amazing. Or at least growing it, maybe they don't go on another weekend, maybe go in the week in between. So it's like literally a full like week and a half long event. That would be fantastic.
00:12:10
Speaker
That would be interesting then. Like you would have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, basically for wins. And then Thursday, Friday, Saturday again for percussion. That would be pretty cool. I always joke at WGI. I normally go to the color guard version and I always tell like the concession ladies, I'm like, now next weekend, there's going to be a whole different kind of thing. So with the wins, they're going to be, They're going to have no idea what they're doing. They're like, what is going on here? I feel like no one knows what's going on with the wins yet, but that's the magic of it. Still getting figured out. Lots of space to go in and be creative in wins. So if you've got a group, if you've got a high school, if you've been considering it, they want you to do it. They're going to let you do it for free. You should go do it. um ah Ricardo, I think you've got our next story, right?
00:13:04
Speaker
I do and you know what's so funny is this is so cool and i we are doing the same thing this week but looking at the Knox News from Knoxville, Tennessee and members of the Farragut High School marching band got sprayed off by some of their local firemen. The Knox County firemen went over to their band camp on their last day and they've done this for four years and they sprayed the kids off with the fire hose. And when I tell you people go to KnoxNews.com, check out these pictures of these kids having the time of their lives, getting cooled off by these fire hoses, just being kids and playing. It seems like so much fun. We are actually going to do the same thing.
00:13:51
Speaker
on Friday of this week and have the fire truck come out and spray. We do a band Olympics with our kids for the last day and they get to compete in sections. And the final thing is just the fire trucks are coming. So you want to talk about seeing some kids enjoying themselves, having a good time and y'all it is hot, hot in the world right now. Y'all don't believe climate change is real. Walk outside. Yeah. Walk outside. You will see fire. I almost want a fire truck to come to my house right now and spray me. It's one way to clean the horns. that that you're right think about Maybe not the woodwinds, but yeah, definitely the brass. Oh man.
00:14:34
Speaker
Okay. that's ah That's a good idea. Honestly, that would be a great thing to talk about later on. We're going to have some good tips and tricks for getting through Bandcamp. And I think if if you've got a fire truck handy, you can get through Bandcamp. No problem. It's going to make it light work. but ah Let's see, I think Jeff, you've got another story for us here, right? Yeah, this just hit on Facebook a little while ago. If you pull up WKRN News 2 out of knoxville or Nashville, a tornado just blew through Middle Tennessee State, literally.
00:15:06
Speaker
right where the Murfreesboro show was three nights ago, four nights ago. Um, and it looks like the tornado went right through campus, possibly even hitting part of the stadium. So, um, they have some footage, I guess, from one of the cameras on top of the stadium. Not cool, but that's the joy of summertime in the South is you got twisters coming and they'll make a movie and then you'll go cow. Same cow. you know
00:15:33
Speaker
That's crazy.
00:15:36
Speaker
That was the one movie I was allowed to see my year that I marched DCI. And that was a spring training. We all went to see Twister. We went to see it after a full day of drill rehearsal for DCA course. so Absolutely, that's right. Yeah, I think that's someone no one prepares you for. You really become like a weather watcher, a tornado chaser or something out there on tour. I would spend most of my time staring at the cloud, waiting, trying to figure out if that thing was going to give me rain and get me off to the sideline.
00:16:05
Speaker
I was on a parking lot where lightning hit way at the back end of the parking lot and if you want to see DC a core ages 15 to 50 run for their lives that night it happened. Sounds like an explosion. I actually had a similar story once because we were doing like bass subs around this light pole in our ah spring training facility. And it started drizzling. We figured like, ah, let's go inside. We don't need it today. And then like two minutes after we went outside, boom, like a huge bolt of lightning just right on the light pole that we were just rehearsing next to. It would have just like ruptured my eardrums probably. It would have been crazy.
00:16:45
Speaker
but you'll never ticket that part again. Will you? There you go. It all worked out. No, I listen. I don't mess with the rain now. I'm wearing a giant metal harness and a big heavy metal drum. I don't need any of that. and I was right there with you. We're carrying a 28 inch Pearl. Yep. All right, I've got the next story for us here. We might have mentioned this one before, but I think ah people got to hear about it. It's a really great ah opportunity.
Competitions and Challenges in Marching Band
00:17:11
Speaker
so Metallica is bringing back its marching band competition again, the ah for whom the band tolls marching band competition. so They've got multiple divisions across a couple different categories, whether it's a high school band, college band, ah
00:17:28
Speaker
I think even different size bands for the two different like scholastic levels. If you go and you design a college or a high school show using Metallica music, you could win all sorts of prizes. ah Last year they gave out 16,000 prizes for groups to use to purchase instruments, things like that. ah Looks like it totals you know upwards of like $250,000. that is out there for the winners of of this competition to use to buy instruments, buy uniforms and all the other things that you need to have a great season. So play some fun music, be a part of the competition. It's cool. I wish more bands would do things like Metallica is doing, where instead of making it hard to sample their music and hard to get the rights to use the show,
00:18:22
Speaker
they actually are happy to give it to everyone so that marching bands around the country promote their music and they can do a good music education.
00:18:35
Speaker
So shout out to Metallica. um They did not. And that's two stories in like the the news portion of people promoting ah pageantry and marching arts in addition to regular funding, which means there is actually great value to it and other people are seeing it besides us. Yeah, I mean, look, I'll I've worked in a business financing bank job and I'll say this the way I look at it. Metallica wouldn't give away $250,000 if they didn't think there was something in it for them for running a very big band competition and.
00:19:10
Speaker
trying to reach out and appease to all these marching band folks. so I think it's it's a good example of how it it goes both ways. you know You're not just throwing money away when you give it to arts education. so You know what else is a good example of, Steven? It's a good example of remembering where you came from because I'm pretty sure that all of those guys in Metallica were all in marching band and they know the value of what they got from the experiences, from being in a high school and college marching band. oh yeah They wouldn't be half the musicians that they are today without that experience. So we know all of us out there, this is this is my little ploy for everybody that's out there in the world that maybe it's not necessarily in the pageantry arts world, but you know what it did for you. Give back, give back because we know that this is important for kids.
00:20:00
Speaker
It's crazy you see like different artists that are really successful and stuff like that. I'm pretty sure that I've seen like that Lil Wayne had something to do with marching band. and like I'm pretty sure I'm not making that up. It's crazy. It was like when he was 11 or something. i had a list and i don't I don't remember where I found this list at but there was like a list of all of these like um celebrities that all did like band and high school and college and I mean it's like some of the people on there and the instruments that they played you would never think that that's what they did but but they they were you know it's it's valuable advocate for the arts all day long y'all it's important
00:20:41
Speaker
That's all I do all day every day. um but Let's get into these things DCI here, especially percussion. I've been excited to talk about this. I feel like we haven't talked a ton about it yet, but I feel like Boston finally is really getting the come around. Jeff, have you been like paying close attention to a what's been going on this last couple of days with scores and all? Yeah, I have. um I mean, I haven't seen any of the world class groups live yet, so you can't always base your full opinion off a flow. If we could, everybody would judge WGI from home in between the buffering. But it's it's a tight battle happening with percussion this year. um Some interesting movements and rankings the last couple of days, like last night, um troopers beating crown in percussion.
00:21:32
Speaker
well You know there's there's a lot of really good well-designed stuff that you know i've seen people playing these guys don't know how to juggle their numbers know that it's that tight from what i'm seeing cuz when you look at the names on these recaps these are people that know so you know boston seems to have finally figured out. What it takes and I think honestly their approach this year has been a little bit less is more which I think is good. It eliminates some of the potential for Sorry, I sound old school here, but ticks um Or eliminates maybe that fuzz just because they're trying so much but making sure what they have is absolutely spotless um blue coats have such a well-designed total package that it's just going to take
00:22:19
Speaker
ah Roger and team you know those last two weeks to put all the finishing touches on it and they'll be right there and never ever count out the blue devils i know never don't yeah i'm cavalier seem to have regained their footing they. Apparently had some internal drama a few weeks ago and their percussion scores kinda plummeted now they're coming back into the conversation. Course vanguard is back it's it's not sit just down at the top of world class in the middle world class are some nice battles even down in open and open in all age there's some really really great stuff happening with percussion this year it's like. Finally that merge of indoor and outdoor his kinda come together besides just stealing the same body moves over and over at every break and it's you're really.
00:23:05
Speaker
Getting that clarity that you're looking for base finally figured out like tuning with some of the newer equipment that when it's on it's just spotless like i'm watching night beat last night and i'm i'd i' laughed a couple of times watching the tv just cuz you can hear things that. You know three four years ago with the tuning schemes everybody was using you couldn't hear it's like people finally figure out how to tune for outdoor versus indoor not just tuning everyday for indy. You gotta know your venue and i think that's finally coming back into vogue is the keep going to the same stadium over and over again they know what to play for.
00:23:43
Speaker
That's interesting. I wonder if groups are really like trying to adjust their tuning throughout the summer, depending on it. Cause like throughout a lot of it's really like a progressive thing. You don't just show up and like win drums at finals. Usually all of a sudden it's usually cause like through days and weeks of competition, you've been getting judges to agree that you're the best. And now there's like this current that's like. In your favor for for things to go your way, like a current of popular opinion, I might consider it. Well, I think they learned from the audio guys because several of the course audio guys have been public about they keep a book on the stadiums they go to. So they know how, like, they know how to set up for Allen town. They know now after a couple of years that the new stadium, everything's in in Atlanta. When you keep going to these places over and over again, you kind of figure out how the building or facility works.
00:24:36
Speaker
And you you make those notes so you remember so when you're rolling in next year and you have your three minutes to get everything set up hooked up running and plugged in powered on. I'm like music city last night god love them but they had to take a four point penalty it took them. Yeah these these guys have a lot of these guys have figured out now. Not only do you do that with just what's coming through the speakers, but maybe you do that with the drums. I know know back in the day, Trish, you know the last time I was on, we talked about the grand old days in in Scranton. We knew how to tune the drums for that, especially when you get that echo coming off the mountain behind the stadium versus what we would tune for at Hershey or Cumberland or Clifton or other places we would go. I think the DCI i guys are starting to figure out that you know we're going to Murph every year unless we fall out of the top eight. We we know what acoustics we're going to get at Murphreesboro. Let's tune for that. We know what we're going to get at Wake Forest. Let's tune for that. and you know Everybody knows how to tune for Allentown. so um you know I think that's playing a part in it, honestly.
00:25:39
Speaker
Yeah. And I think it's also yeah it's how you tune for it, but they're making the same decisions as they're writing the shows. They're like, how is my biggest and most important shows are generally going to be in an indoor stadium. So like we're trying to design these percussion parts that are going to read maybe in a more reverb environment. You can kind of play with a little bit more cover up the sound when you're in the back field, when there's a whole big like echo space that you're inside of. Um, But even, even I've noticed, and again, I haven't been to India in several years, but even on flow, you notice a difference with how people are tuning and things are cutting through an indie than you did for a long time there. It's like everybody's finally, especially when you have so many of these people that also deal with BOA in November, they're getting enough time in that stadium that they kind of know yeah how how to play it. And I truly think that's coming into play, not just what's being written for them, but how to make it sound when they hit the drum. I mean, yeah you know,
00:26:38
Speaker
Vanguard is gonna selling like vanguard no matter where they go but i know in some years i've seen him in westchester and then two nights later see him in allentown and you can tell things are tuned just a little differently because they know how you're gonna get that sound off the back wall in allentown versus off the back bleachers at westchester. It's really interesting i never considered that groups would do that but i totally think that that's like that's what the highest level of the activity probably is doing and is probably considering their thinking about things like that.
Phantom Regiment's Journey to Success
00:27:05
Speaker
but Jeff, one group that I think we didn't mention that has been surprising me too, it's Phantom Regiment. Yes. um I remember, I think it was the Aged Out podcasted ah episode with their new team last year and I believe he's a Renek disciple. Okay. And he's slowly but surely turning it around, but I think his writing has now started meshing more with with what Shaw does with the brass, which I think is really helping it pop. It's not quite
00:27:32
Speaker
Is nodey dense fifty thousand room shots a second as they had with the previous team and it's it's really playing off it takes a lot of build a program you don't yes automatically go in somewhere and you know you're great overnight i mean look how many years it took for you know running to get phantom to where they were before you left and went to vanguard and then there was a little bit of a time there. it It takes time to build these programs up no matter who you are, and he's putting it together. that That whole package is, I think, what I'm looking forward to seeing most live this weekend, even though they're not going to win. That's the show I want to see the most, just because it's just the whole thing is speaking to me.
00:28:13
Speaker
Yeah, they really like are having a moment this summer, the full core, not just the drum line, where I feel like they are coming back in a real serious way. Because for a while, I feel like Phantom, it's not like any core is bad, per se, or something. But people weren't really putting them in the same kind of like competing bracket that they had been maybe in the early 2000s, mid 2000s. I mean before the pandemic there was there was serious concern they were gonna fall out of finals ah in nineteen and they managed to hold on to it and. You know just the reboot and then bringing shaw back and adding the pieces they've added it's it's brought them back and they're getting.
00:28:57
Speaker
standing o's before the last note pretty much everywhere so um that that's gonna be a fun one to see i'm very much looking forward to seeing vanguard in person cuz that show is not translated well to me online i think that's my biggest thing this year is several of the shows online. Have not translated to me as well as maybe in past years is i think they're almost kinda designed for you have to fully experience it live so ah i'm really looking for this weekend and now i'm being able to hear everything and see everything in. No getting a good good deep read on everything i have to you know keep my percussion brain on keep my effect brain on as i prepare for the fall but um i'll probably defer to drums instantaneously just because that's what i do oh yeah.
00:29:40
Speaker
I'm going to be spending all my time just watching bass drums, man, just doing what I do for sure. But when we get to what are you doing? I got one about that. Oh, okay. Sorry, go ahead.
Percussion and Color Guard Culture
00:29:54
Speaker
When you guys you percussion guys, um, is it more fun for you guys to watch the shows or the lots. Because the lot thing is something that is a thing in Cologuard, but it's not as big a thing as it seems to be in percussion. like it seems to be you know I even noticed in marching band this year, you know even marching bands would post their performance time and their lot time. you know I'm like, okay, we're doing that now here too.
00:30:25
Speaker
But do you guys run to the lots or do you guys run to the stands to watch the show? How good are my seats in the stadium?
00:30:36
Speaker
Show. The show, okay. Yes, and if if we're doing what are we doing, I can elaborate more there because I'm going to change the title slightly. Okay, awesome. Yeah, and I would say, uh, at least for me, it's, it's probably the show I'm trying to really being on this podcast. It makes me appreciate the rest of the activity more is really all there is to it. I used to definitely, if you had talked to me four years ago, it would have been lots, lots, lots, not a question. Wow. Okay.
00:31:10
Speaker
But the the fact that there was this entire conversation about ah tuning drums for different venues, and you think of the we um the growth in the other sections, the folks, the instructors at the first championship could never have fathomed these kind of conversations. Right. um yeah And I think that shows that there's a lot of growth in our activity. It's becoming more sophisticated. And we as audience members kind of sometimes have to educate ourselves to the finer little nuances too. And it's just a wonderful experience.
00:31:50
Speaker
Not not not to age myself but i learned the difference in tuning in the seventies when my dad was marching because. His core of the Yankee rebels was butting heads with the skyliners all summer long and it all came down to who tune differently and which judge like what. Because the rebels like to tune tighter and higher so if something didn't fall in the place it was evident the skyliners tuned a little muddier a little wetter and everything a lot of stuff had an inherent fuzz but if you were up close you can tell it wasn't really dirty and that's listening to and the legion post those stories about tuning.
00:32:27
Speaker
That stuck with me all these years and all the years I taught and everything. I mean, I can't tell you how many times I pull into the Scranton, parking lot of Scranton and direct dig out the drum, K and K. Okay, boys, we're going way up today, except for you. You just hit your drum hard and make that bottom head paper thin. And there we go. Yeah, it's crazy. It's like there's a whole meta to it. I could talk for a long time about how I think all sorts of different instructors have their own like techniques that they're doing to try to like how they think that's going to aid their competitive success. It's like
00:33:04
Speaker
It's a whole ordeal. and And I think the equipment comes into play because of the how the equipment is made now. And I think the one advantage that blue coats may have going in is Thomas sounds so much better inside than it does outside. And I've noticed it was indoor the last few years and then seeing it, you know, in the fall with groups using it and watching with the blue coats. You know, that year they won drums two years ago, the week before downtown, I was like, yeah. And finals night i'm like who those drums sound better inside than they do outside and i think that could come back to help. um Yeah i mean it's the same thing with fan guard with the dynasties those drums just sound so warm and like so wet and that's what they want to sound like it's like that's how they sound as good as they do is because that's their sound.
00:33:53
Speaker
Well, it helps that they get the drums kind of custom made to their specifics a little bit too. yeah They're basically the only group that can have dynasties. But yeah I've never heard dynasty sound that good anywhere else. so But I'll stop derail in this podcast. We've actually got to go. We've got to go get my camera set up for these lots that I'm going to be recording this upcoming weekend, but we'll be right back in a couple of minutes here.
00:34:29
Speaker
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00:35:02
Speaker
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Engagement and Adaptation in Bandcamp
00:35:41
Speaker
All right, we're back. Let's talk about Bandcamp. So outside of the obvious, bring sunscreen. ah What are some other things that band or guard directors can do to keep the kids getting good work in, but, you know, staying engaged, not looking to give up. How can you help get the most out of Bandcamp? Well, it's been a long time since I've done band camp. I became a parent and stopped teaching band, but the number one thing I always remembered is read your kids. You can tell where they're at mentally and physically. ah You know, when they need that break, you know, when maybe it's time to take things off the drill field and go work on some notes inside for a little bit. Just read your kids. That's the biggest thing you can do. Yeah, I agree.
00:36:26
Speaker
And you can like play to their attention span a little bit too. Like I know that it's old school band and everyone wants to like really work hard, get the most out of their blocks, but like, it's going to be fine. You can take a little break, play some games, do something fun every now and then we don't need to be like going so hard. You're going to you push them further than they can actually put out. Listen, one more rep in July. One more rep in July is not gonna make a break you in November. you know where you It's just not gonna do it. Like kids, especially, you know, in 2024, people, kids are different. They are, and we can be the back in my day crowd and, you know, talk about how we used to push and do all this stuff. Like kids aren't built that way anymore. And you have to like recognize that. Also again, climate change is real, it's hot.
00:37:20
Speaker
And human, it's human and I'm in Florida. So it's like, we are in the swamp. Like literally the school is on a swamp. So that's terrible. Actually thinking of it. I remember on tour, at least swamp tour ends. The fear in Florida high school band, it never ends. It never ends. I got so spoiled the last few, the last two months essentially, I've been on the West Coast where there is no humidity. Now it was 110 plus degrees in places, but there was no humidity. I got home today to my band camp and it was 85 degrees and like 97% humidity and I was ready to fight everybody.
00:37:59
Speaker
No, thank you. And I think ah one thing that kind of goes along with what has been said, you know, ah anyone who works with people in general, especially educators, you know, you have to develop those relationships with your kids. Now, your new kids, it's going to take a little time, but like if the your best student um The one who never complains starts sucking there theirre you know their teeth and rolling their eyes. There's something wrong. you know Like you said, let's just take a little break. you know And gushing goes, I don't really know if that's the most effective use of time anymore. Sometimes either go sit, have
00:38:43
Speaker
Take, take a couple of minutes, you know, ah let your brain think about something else. Then we can go back and then we can get back to work. Yeah. We need to like gush and go have a snack. Oh, yeah you know my band director, Amy Wilcox does. And I tried to emulate it with the winter guards who is she'll tell the kids specifically it's eight Oh seven. at 812 or 813, whatever, we're gonna be set up in page seven. So they now know, so first of all, you know, they have their phones in their hands, they're on breaks, and they're looking at their phones. yeah They know what time it is. And they mentally now know, okay, I have this amount of time, you know, she gets those specific times to start them. Okay, it's 807, we're gonna start back up at 815 in page 12 or whatever. And they know, and it's real, it's, to me, it's really, it works, it's really effective.
00:39:36
Speaker
and And also in the Northeast, given when band camps generally happen, you have those kids that literally come right off a tour back to band camp and you have to remind them that this is not tour. They're still like at the end of the season. Go, go, go, kill, kill, kill till you drop mode. And the rest of the band is not going to be there. And you have to back those kids off. Yes. That one. That one goes for kids in drum corps, too, honestly. Like if if you're going back to your college band or something like and Just check in and remember that you're not doing the same band. We're doing different things now. like Drum Corps trying to be competitive and be the best is not the same thing as going back to your college band and trying to be entertaining, trying to have a good time and do well by the school. I think that like when I was in college, I was totally missed on me. I was like, dude, my college band is dirty. Well, the music we play is easy. Bring me back to Drum Corps.
00:40:35
Speaker
I made the switch. I went from being in the horn line and then ah when after I marched, I went to the color guard afterwards because I can't do that. And um with like the new kids, you know you know, the language that we use takes like, we all know what eight to five is without thinking about it. But like during the percussion talk, you all sounded like the teacher on Charlie Brown. I did not understand. um I was like, Oh, because I thought Dynasty was a TV show. um No, I know.
00:41:13
Speaker
But like, you know, it's it's those shortcuts we have because this is what we do for all like a living or it's just another band camp.
Empathy and Technology in Band Rehearsals
00:41:21
Speaker
We do this, we do that. It's that empathy piece, you know, that social and emotional learning piece that we really kind of have to really be mindful of. You know, little Sally's eventually got to figure out how to turn her shoulders so she's not pointing to the hot dog stand. Again, that's a November problem. In July, she's just trying to figure out where she's going. She's trying to figure out left foot, right foot. I think I'm probably one of the worst, you know, like caption head instructors because
00:41:57
Speaker
I don't, and in July, and really for the first part of August, I don't even go into the tower with my high school band. I am on the field with the kids. I don't either. I'm walking around with the kids like cracking jokes. Like we have little inside games that we play that are stupid that they do on each rep, stuff like that. and And somebody said snacks earlier. um My kids now put like candy in their fanny packs with their dot books and their chalk. And so they're always like grabbing candy and stuff. I'll walk up to kids, I'll be like, what you got in your bag? you know And and you know it creates this little bond with the kid and that little scared freshman that's terrified and they're freaking out. like They have this little tiny moment with you and whatever that tiny moment is, they go, hey, I remember when he he
00:42:45
Speaker
got a Jolly Rancher for me. Or, you know, sometimes I take candy out to the field and I just walk around and I sneak up, sneak them to kids and I hear, eat this, you know, like it's, you have to do those things to make the kids want to be there. Make them remember because that's the stuff that they're going to remember in the end. They're not going to remember, you know, five, six, seven, eight. They're not going to remember where you placed. They're not going to remember any of that stuff. They're going to remember the bond that they had with, with the instructors. They're going to remember the bond that they have with their friends. They're going to remember the last. They're going to remember crazy stuff like get sprayed with the fire hose. All of those are the things that are the. I don't always, I don't always go up in the box either. And here's why, because a lot of times it more than this one time, I thank him. Um, I, you know, you during sectionals, you just taught like eight pages of work.
00:43:38
Speaker
And now, at night, they're putting it with the bands on the field. and You know, then it's like set it up for a run through and I know i you could just see the panic. So I'll say to my staff, we gotta stay down here and close caption. And they're like, what's closed caption? I'm like, we gotta do the work in front of them. I call it closed caption, you know, the little box in the corner of the person like, you know, that's us, you know, i'm like we gotta close, week we gotta spin with them. We gotta close caption this for them so that they'll, you know, they they'll have something to watch and they'll be able to see that it does work with the music and they'll be able to figure it out.
00:44:14
Speaker
But, and another thing I do is, those fresh, those sophomores, juniors, and seniors, not that long ago, they were freshmen. And I'll say to them all the time, I'll be like, raise your hand if you ever felt on the first day of band camp, you were never going to be able to do this. And yet here you still are. So you need to be telling your stories to these new people. So, oh my, oh my God, my first day, oh my God, it was so hard. It was so hot. And then then it got bad, you know, you need to tell them because me saying it and you saying it is two different things. but So I, you know, a lot of times I do that as well. So that's another thing that works for me.
00:44:57
Speaker
But I also had a question I wanted to ask you guys because we don't do this yet, but I wanted to ask you guys. um Those of you who are using like electronic drill books and dot books, I mean, I guess not to do a plug or anything for like UDB or anything. but um has How do you guys find that? I mean, for me as a teacher, as well as a color guard director, I would be like, you're not only looking at your data on page 12, you're texting your friend or you're looking at TikTok or you're doing whatever. So you know how do you guys find that that? Those of you who use those apps, like how do you guys find this that that works?
00:45:38
Speaker
I think it's twofold, Trish. One, as a classroom teacher, I'm used to always running it around making sure kids aren't on their phones, so I'm always doing that anyway. But I think the second thing is is if your rehearsal is engaging and it's moving at a pace that they aren't you know they can't sit down and think about what's happening on Snapchat, they're not gonna do it. They're not gonna really be on. we This is our third year using it and at the high school. And then we obviously use it with the drum corps. And I hardly ever have kids that are on their phones doing other stuff just because they're thinking about what the work is gonna be right there. They're trying to figure out what their dots are. it And everything moves at a quick pace so they don't have time to. So that would be my recommendation.
00:46:25
Speaker
Be vigilant, but also keep it moving. But to add to that, you know once you have like there's going to be that one knucklehead trombone player, because there always is. You're going to have to keep your eye on that individual a little more than somebody else. That's that relationship piece. And the freshmen are are just trying to survive. So you're not going to have to worry about right happening there. right that It's the other folks. right I think it's it's a it's not too bad. like As a younger person that was in ensembles using it, like I did sometimes go on my phone, but like normally that's something that you would do when you can tell that like the in your tech is over on the other side of the floor doing something with the quad line or something.
00:47:21
Speaker
I feel like it's kind of like we were talking about meeting your students where they are. like Kids nowadays are constantly popping on their phone for 20 seconds, 30 seconds while they're doing other things. yeah you know We want to corral it well, but if you're it's like you're saying that if you give them a good, fun experience, like They're going to pop in, do what they need to do, but they'll be mostly with you. And the tool is so helpful that like, that's how a kid is going to learn now. You know, that, that sort of UDB app is going to be so like intuitive to a ninth grader that's picking up band. Can we rewind that back to the younger part? Um, excuse me, young man.
00:48:07
Speaker
I'll meet you after rehearsal. what will' ha It's okay, Tony. We can ah we can both go still in march. We can march Bush. Listen, I would need a wheelchair and an oxygen tank. Listen. no ah if you want If you want to take it, if you want to take it way back to that percussion discussion we had a little while ago, Bushwacker's drum line. Yeah. This body will never wear a drum again. I'll tell you what though, for me anyway, and I have so many friends that disagree with me, for me anyway, it's never going to go away. The desire is never going to go away. I went to the first, I went to the first all age show and a couple of the Spartan 7th Regiment, a couple of opens there too, up in Shelton, Connecticut. And as soon as we pulled in the parking lot, I said to my boyfriend, I'm getting all the feels.
00:49:00
Speaker
You see everybody hanging out outside their cars. They're in their warm up stuff. They just had their shower. They're like ready to go. I'm like, oh, it's all cut. Like I'm getting all the feels
Nostalgia and Physical Toll in Drum Corps
00:49:10
Speaker
again. So like, you know, I wish I could do it still. but And funny thing, Trish, two weeks later, I pulled into an all age show. And first thing I heard, I got out of the car is, oh, they need to fix their timing on their left hands. I think about the charlie horse that I would get after standing all day. So I'm like, Oh, Lord. I'll enjoy my show dog and a Coke and on the stands and then I'll leave and not have to worry about anything. Our ongoing joke is that I have one more season left in me. Anytime I demonstrate choreography to the kids, they're like, oh yeah, you got one more season left in you. I think I might. maybe you know There you go. Backfield dancer, I don't know. yeah See? Come out for 32 counts and then that's it. Yeah, you've got one left in you for sure.
00:50:00
Speaker
All right. Let's get into this one. One show that's all you got but yeah like yeah one final performance. Break a leg, but, uh, let's pop in here. I think that we've actually got a couple little segments for our, what are we doing this week? What are we doing?
00:50:26
Speaker
What are we doing? What are we doing? Who's got, ah who's got one for us first? I'll get my ran out of the way and I'm going to call it a lot. Are we doing no the lot has grown in tremendous popularity and look, I are a drummer. I watch live videos all the time, but I don't go to the lot in the parking lot because when you're at the show site, you need to be focusing on what you're going to be doing when you go into the stadium to perform your show. sitting there trying to play all these extra cool, super hard, gridlet flammable exercises that have nothing to do with your show.
00:51:04
Speaker
And then you go out on the field and you blow your first tap roll attack. What are you doing? And of course, monkey see monkey do as we know in this activity, if we see a DCI core do it, well, obviously we need to do it and then pull into a band show in the fall. And you see all these groups trying to play all these cool, you know, tap space exercises, the Vanguard did 20 years ago and they can't, and then they can't play their show. Do what's important to your show. The best compliment I ever got in all my years of teaching was when you're done a while would somebody came up to me and said, you guys are really boring in the lot, but yet you won. And I'm like, yeah, cause everything we do in the lot is what we're going to take onto the floor. Yeah, dude, I'm the big biggest proponent of like, do something simple in the lot so your kids can actually focus on the quality of what you're doing. Like.
00:51:58
Speaker
if I'm trying to play this crazy hard etude because it's fun and it's it's exciting, like cool, that's neat. there' It's not like there's no reason to do it, but I've always been in drum lines that I think are more like rooted in their East Coast way where they're like, no, we're gonna play like very simple basics. The same things that you played on like your day one of Bandcamp as a freshman, but we're going to see like, we're gonna push the limit in how good you can execute it. Yeah, I mean, you can create an exercise that's got some groove, but what you're playing has to apply to what you're doing in the show. You know, all my years at West Shore, and then all the years in West Shore alumni, where we played on stands because we were old, you know, we played an exercise that East Coasters will know Sabra C that started with the Crossman transferred out. It was basically just a big base run with the snares and tenors doing some independent things, and then you had a group. And I insisted we play it. Why? Sure, it was cool when I had the group.
00:52:56
Speaker
But that never ending bass run was needed for the bass drums yeah because of the stuff we were playing in our show. So there we go. It was fun. It was cool. We could bob our heads and we got our threes and fours really clean at the same time. And that's what you need to do in the lot. I won't name any names. They're now a top core, but years ago they weren't. And I saw them playing all this incredibly hard stuff standing still at Hershey Stadium. And then they went out in the field and it was just like, No, I wanted to go down and hug the kids because it wasn't their fault. It was their staff's fault for making them do that. And that just turned me off on the lot ever since. Even all my trips to Dayton, the couple that I made, except for going out to see like maybe Pulsar RCC, I avoided it. I'd rather much rather watch the whole show. That's such a percussion thing because like in the color guard world, I mean, and for myself, maybe I'm speaking for me, but like warm up time is for to focus.
00:53:56
Speaker
and not putting on a production in a parking lot. Like I'm trying to get them in the mindset for what they gotta do in a few minutes. So if somebody comes up and is watching what we're doing, that's great and fine, but we're not outside in the parking lot performing for you. We are performing for ourselves to get out us ready for the real show. Right. Well, that one's definitely been a debate for a while. It's funny, like, in the WGI i season, I'm actually totally opposite that I am in Drum Corps. Like, I really just want to watch the shows. I feel like the lots are interesting, but, like, the groups aren't even as clean and indoor. I'd way rather just check out and see, like, a good, real, well-executed show. But I've got a ah What Are We Doing for this week, actually. I think that I don't know if any of you guys ah
00:54:45
Speaker
play video games much, or you've been hearing. But ah for the first time in a long time, they came out with a a college football video game, kind of like Madden. um It's been about 10 years since they had one for college football. And on the new college football game, they put so much effort into designing out these really authentic like sequences for game day. They even like have the band in their like traditional pregame locations and stuff as the groups run in. they go through all this effort but then they didn't do the band uniforms correctly like Penn State is wearing black pants and we wear white pants and everything else about the stadium is meticulous the band is even standing in the right spots of the field for the like entry sequence when the football team runs out. Are the drummers wearing gloves for Penn State?
00:55:37
Speaker
That's something actually I really should look closely and check and see because I couldn't see past the fact that they were wearing black. It's not even a color that they use. It's blue and white. Like what is going on? But um it's only to be honest, it's a half hearted water we doing because the flip side of this coin is that that same game I think did the biggest like the biggest shout out to Drumline and like the general population that I've seen maybe since Drumline the movie.
Entertainment Value vs. Complexity in Shows
00:56:07
Speaker
Because like for this game, that's honestly gonna be like a really big game for lots of kids, like 11 to 13 year olds, 10 to 13 year olds that are like right about to get into band age. They made all of the menu music for the whole game. So anytime you're in a menu for any reason, it's just Drumline cadences.
00:56:28
Speaker
And they actually, none of that, no, no band, no nothing. It's all like freshly recorded, like really cool, very modern and like, like ripping drum line cadences. Like I want to know who wrote them. We need to get them on the show. Cause like, It is not some stock material. And like, there's lots of time that you need to spend in the game. Like if you're just a kid that was like playing the story mode functionally of the game, like where you build out your college football dynasty, you would spend literally hours sitting around recruiting players, just having drumline cadences blasted at you.
00:57:08
Speaker
And I think like it's it's doing something. It's going to get in some brains. Like we're going to see more kids interested in drumline just because like they're sitting there. Kids are going to put hundreds of hours in just listening to drumline now. So I thought it was really cool. I thought like it's like, wow, I haven't heard like fat unisons and a fours run in like an EA sports game ever. Pretty cool, pretty out of place. Do we got any ah any other water we doings? This, so what are we doing? um As a person who's getting his doctorate, I have to use my brain for that. I'm going to see a drum corps show or a marching band show or a winter guard show or a drum line show with a show dog and a coke. It's not that deep, right? like
00:58:05
Speaker
and the sophistication part of it, right? um I understand you want some elevated thoughts, but if I've watched your entire show and I look at the person beside me and go, What did we see? yeah um yeah why don are we agree thought it A great moment in my early judging career was a respected elder statesman in the East Coast sat there and listened to this band staff explain their show for their entire three minute critique. And he looked at him and said,
00:58:38
Speaker
You just spent your entire critique time telling me about your show that I'm probably never going to see again for the rest of the season. And now you're going to have to do this every week so everybody gets it. So I wish you the best of luck. Drive home safely.
00:58:53
Speaker
And I'm like, yeah. That's so funny, dude. That is some real old school style East Coast commentary. like i could but you can't He was right. He is right. With so few shows on the schedule now, you know the um opportunity to see a Drum Corps show live or you know WGI, you know they're still not like... you know, California's got something going every week with percussion, but, you know, you don't have a lot of opportunities to see this stuff live anymore like you did in the old days. If you can't get it on the first read, you're losing people. If you can't get it from the show title and watching the first couple seconds of it, you can do it, right? Yeah. if If I have to listen to a podcast where they talk about your show for 45 minutes, you've overdone your show. Sorry.
00:59:46
Speaker
I agree. So again, like I always say this like when designing or going into helping people. My mother who knows nothing about nothing should be able to understand what the show's about. But me as a person who has been around this and like taught Moses how to spin a flag, if I get the little nuance moment through it, then that is the perfect, perfect mix of it all, right? It should be general.
01:00:18
Speaker
for by the the common person to understand, but then people who are a more educated audience member would would get the little nuanced moments in it. One of the greatest examples recently was when BD did Fellini-esque. Now, how many people know Fellini? I knew the name. But you could tell the show was about making movies. right You didn't have to know the backstory on all of his movies and all that other stuff. It was about making movies. And after many years of BD not being very popular with their show design, they were beloved and they popped a record score. Bluecoats, Downside Up. Slides, you know, it made perfect sense.
01:01:06
Speaker
The Academy, when opportunity knocks, there's doors. Yes. I'm looking forward to seeing that one live, too. You know, like I teach elementary school for a living, so I say this a lot, and Tricia, I think you say this too, in the pre-K. I'm like, this really is not rocket science. Like, but your pencil here, do this, do that, right? You know, right or this is the letter A, or for me, this is a tau, this is a DT, right? But it's not rocket science, but we can make it, because we're trying to seem self-important,
01:01:42
Speaker
Question mark, question mark. in know yeah Okay. So my, what are we doing is about my beloved, my favorite core. Everybody knows this Carolina crown. and Last year, last year, well, first of all, I love the show last year. I love the show this year too, but last year, they waited till Allentown to put the crown set in, and it was a moment. It was a total moment. This year, they've already put it in. I think it's too soon, unless there's something else coming. So please, Carolina Crown, this weekend in Allentown, give me something more at that end date. Please, I'm waiting for it.
01:02:23
Speaker
I want to see the whole torch go up in flames. That's what I want. That's what not the torch. I want to fill the whole crown. i think they' They've got to have something. Because the one that's that they're neck and neck with, Phantom Regiment, I hate to say it, one of the best endings of DCI this year. and They're not done with it. No, I don't think so either. You still got kick halts and leg outs. I was going to say the legs got to go out this weekend. you know Probably horns crabbing and trying to think of every other Phantom. oh Nobody's died yet in the show, so yeah you got got all kinds of Phantom gimmicks passed yet to come.
01:03:02
Speaker
You just made the most Phantom show ever. I would love it if they just spent two weeks just turning it into the most Phantom show they've ever made. we yeah We're on their design team next year, and next year's show is called Phantom Esque. Well, they they have the alumni corps coming up in a couple years of years at Indy, so I would imagine that could be your dream Phantom show there. Oh, God. That's what I want alumni corps to be. Nothing but fan service. They should do a crown show that's nothing but crown sets.
01:03:37
Speaker
Okay, so i'm on I'm on staff with the ah Crossman alumni. So trust me, you'll see crosses, surprise, surprise, and yeah and all the crowd favorites that everybody's playing. How many versions of Birdland are we getting? I mean, it's Florence's secrecy. but And I plead the fifth on that. Okay, I'll need Birdland and First Circle. We'll be good. I need Puma. All right. Do we got any more water to do? Oh, i I'm about to rant and i'm about to be I'm about to make some people mad, but I am just going
Generational Perspectives on Drum Corps Evolution
01:04:12
Speaker
to go ahead and say it. And I feel like I keep saying this and saying it over and over again. But all of you back in my day people, get somewhere with your bad back and your knock knees and sit down and quit talking about these kids that are out here on the road, working their butts off, doing the thing that they love.
01:04:29
Speaker
We know that back in your day, you wore regular uniforms. We know that you have more music and they have melody and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. We are not back in your day, baby. It is 2024. Let these kids get out there and make the magic that they're doing. Let's keep pushing this activity forward so that it stays alive. I'm tired of seeing y'all's posts on the internet. I'm tired of you coming up to me talking all this crap. I don't care. I don't care. Get somewhere to sit all the way down. What are you doing? What are we doing? Wait one second. Wait one second here. People are coming up to you. Oh, girl. Yeah.
01:05:04
Speaker
oh yeah Hey, I, I had it my rookie year in 1989. Somebody's like, well, that's not the kind of stuff we were doing 20 years ago when I was marching in a washroom. And I'm like, oh, that was 20 years ago. Sorry. we We like to play jazz fast and clean. Um, you guys like to play Columbia gem of the ocean. yeah It is what it is. I frequently get myself in trouble online because I'll just say to people, look, drum Corps has never changed backwards with the exception of one rule change. and all time and that was for a while vocals are penalized and then they brought them back in the eighties and made it legal again. That's the only time drum corps went back and changed something. Change has been happening in drum corps since day two and alumni have been complaining in drum corps since day two and a half. Fortunately, it's how the alumni complained that is the biggest problem.
01:05:55
Speaker
You know what? There are things in today's shows that I don't necessarily like. It's not because it's not what I did. Maybe I just don't like it. But you know what? When I go back and I listen to some of the older stuff or pull up the old videos online, there's stuff from the 60s and 70s I didn't like either. And I'm just realizing it now because I was just a little kid back then. It's going to change. It's going to keep going. And you have two ways to vote your opinion. Well, show up and watch and be supportive or just don't go. As my granny says, everybody. The activity is a business. And if they truly understand that the fan base is not happy and they see attendance drop and this money stops rolling in, then maybe they'll take a look at some of these things. But guess what? Lucas oil keeps selling out every year. Night B just had a record crowd at Wake Forest last night. Murfreesboro is packed looking at the the videos I saw online.
01:06:51
Speaker
the all age show i was that had a good crowd the the open class show last weekend or friday night in dover had a bigger crowd than last year their second year in existence and not exactly a metropolitan area. the activity is growing because they're focusing on what's coming up and what's there now. They're not worried about 1985 anymore. And that's the biggest thing that I think was hurting DCA because they were trying to straddle the fence for what the performers want to do now and what the alumni wanted to see. And you're never going to merge those two worlds. Yes, you're going to have older folks that aren't going to care and are going to love all the change, but you're, you're not going to win them all over focus on where
01:07:32
Speaker
your bread and butter is at. The kids doing it now, the people teaching, they're also teaching that next generation and keep pushing it forward from there. yep amen Some groups in all age, like I think the Bush show does a great job of like honoring some aspects of traditional drum corps and like traditional uniforms, traditional show design and stuff like that, while still like and implementing some more modern stuff like Yeah, the the cabs this year are they they kind of look like the cabs. They snuck the rumps into the show. But yet there's a whole lot of modern stuff happening in the show. But there's enough there to keep, you know, the old timers happy because they got the rumps happening in there for part of the show. And that's the way to do it. You know, blue coats this year.
01:08:19
Speaker
Anybody my age or older knows Boston. You know that song that Bluecoats are opening up with. You've heard it on every classic rock station for 40 years. How can you not like that?
01:08:34
Speaker
Exactly right. Bluecoats, I always, uh, I always respect them for moving the activity forward. I feel like like love it or hate it. They, they continuously move it in a ah new direction. So very meta of them to do their show changes everything. It's like actually the most bluecoats show ever. When you think about it, the next year will be alumni complaining. It's coming. It's, uh, undoubtedly coming in a couple of weeks. It looks like, of course, where's V K when we need them. If there's ever a perfect show for the velvet nights, it's about alumni complaining.
01:09:09
Speaker
Bring the K back. That would be incredible.
Excitement for Upcoming Events and Opportunities
01:09:14
Speaker
All right. Let's, uh, let's get to our gushing goes. I've got one that I'm excited about, but trish yeah um got I got it. I got you. Great job, everyone. Set your equipment down. Gush and go.
01:09:29
Speaker
I'll get us going first, I guess. Um, so gush and go this week, I'll be, uh, I just got a new teaching gig offered up, which I'm going to be a slipping into going to split time between my high school and Rowan university. They're marching. I saw them last fall. Last year was their first season of a getting marching band going at Rowan. Uh, but they're a big music education school. I think Rowan's a state university of New Jersey. um
01:10:01
Speaker
So they're really trying to build like a school kinda like westchester or like western carolina for like people are that are maybe more familiar with some of these like big east coast powerhouse marching band and music ed schools. They're going into their second year doing it so it's like a get in on the ground floor type of thing. um Yeah, they and they performed at the Cavalcade Championship show that I judged last fall. You would not have known that was a first year ensemble. ah yes they it was It was pretty impressive. Yeah, it's awesome. it's like I'm real excited to get into that world because I've kind of dipped my toe a lot deeper in entertainment style band instead of drum corps over the last like year or so, I would say, doing Eagles Drumline.
01:10:43
Speaker
So like college band in that whole realm is its own thing. it's kind of To me, it's real relaxing and like um very fun to not have to worry about being clean and instead get to worry about like being as entertaining as we can be. you know like You're still going to try to be clean. It's not like you're not going to try to be clean. But what we're trying to do is not the same. And the people we're trying to do it for are not the same people. And like we can just have a much more relaxed time. So I'm real excited about it. That's my gush and go for the week. Shout out to Rowan University.
01:11:18
Speaker
um Trish, what do you want a gush and go on about? Well, I'm super pumped to you know tell you guys all about DCI East next time we're on. I'm also super pumped because the DCA drum corps, one of the DCA drum corps I was in Syracuse for videos is having a little reunion Saturday afternoon. And I'm really excited to see, yeah, I'm really excited to see so many people I haven't seen in a while and it's gonna be really cool. Good times, good times.
01:11:53
Speaker
I'm real excited for Allentown too. It's going to be fun. I wonder what it's going to be like not having cadets because I'm so used to seeing like the whole ah holy base reunion and everything going on up there. Well, that still happens, but yeah, they're doing that. They're they're still doing HV reunion. My tailgate area is usually next, the last several years has been right next to where the cadets have congregated, but I think it's going to have a little bit of a different feeling this year than yeah as of past year so ah be it It'll be, it'll be a down moment for sure. But the ones I know I'll walk over, give them a hug, tell them I love them. I love their drum core and you know, just,
01:12:31
Speaker
Like I've had to do with too many alumni of other cores over the decades. I miss your core, but I'm glad you're still coming. Yeah, yeah it's going to be good that at least like Allen town's like the Mecca for cadets and cadets alum. Like at least they'll be able to still hang out with ah all the people that they've been around for years, even though the core is not there with them. Yeah. Yeah, that's that's my gushing goes. Allentown. I mean, that's really my home show anymore, because there's nothing in Hershey like there used to be. um You know, ah we have our little tailgate area that we've been going to for decades, because we have connections with the Allentown School District and the people that own the property we we tailgate on. So I'll get to see so many friends, I'll get to see all the world class cores in one shot.
01:13:14
Speaker
I know people hate it because of the weather and the hill but let's be honest that regional makes DCI more money than the other regionals combined and they are going to keep going there until they can get a better deal or there's a dome that doesn't sound like the one in Syracuse in the footprint.
01:13:32
Speaker
Allentown's just classic. I feel like they couldn't do away with it. Allentown, it could be the new Eastern Championship or something. It's just it's got to be the longest stop, continuous stop on the tour. I mean, it's been going since there since like 77 or 78. um You know, it's it's just it's tradition. It's yeah, I know it it could thunderstorm I mean i've already looked at the forecast for the weekend at least three times already but it's it's still allentown that that it's it's like a college football game for the activity because All the gatherings in the park and the parking lot now with the food trucks down on the street You get to see even more people there as opposed to fighting your way up at the top of the hill for the souvenir stands it's
01:14:16
Speaker
it's It's the last big outdoor show before finals, and it carries that vibe. You get a lot of people, their season ends at Allentown. They're not going out to Indy. Yeah, it's always been me until this year. This is my first time I should get out there for the first time. Ricardo, I do apologize and now in advance for your doors in the hill. Yeah, I've been literally preparing myself for that. so
01:14:41
Speaker
But I'm thinking back at my desk and go off with you guys, because I'm very excited about Allentown. I'm excited to get to see Trish and Steven in person. and hang out for a hot second. and just Which night is Academy, do you know? Friday night. okay so yeah and i'm I'm gushing because i'm I'm excited about wrapping up the season. like It's been great like jumping back in the ring and and being on the road and doing all this stuff and just watching these kids grow and seeing where they started at the beginning of the season and where they are right now.
01:15:14
Speaker
And I'm ready to just put a little go on that and wrap it up and like leave that in my heart for another year. Aw.
01:15:25
Speaker
And my gushing go has nothing to do with drum corps. I'm excited to see um Wolverine and Deadpool. Nice. It's good. Well, there we are.
01:15:38
Speaker
That's good. Every now and then we got to keep gushing go away from band. It doesn't have to be about band. It's good. Thank you, Tony. Awesome. Well, this was fun. Certainly an informative rehearsal this week. I want to thank our hosts, Trish and Ricardo, as well as our guests, clinicians, Tony and Jeff, ah please tell our listeners where they could find you on social media. Tony, do you have any place they could go? Uh, I just have a Facebook and I think the kids call it a Graham. I'm at that age, i didn't I don't know. Like when you were talking about the video games, I was like, speaking again. Nothing official or anything of this sort.
01:16:14
Speaker
Well, they could take a look for you on Facebook. And Jeff, what about you? Is there any place anyone could go check you out if they wanted to? Facebook, Instagram, any of the DCAF podcast official sites that participate in those, you know. Awesome. Well, go check it out. DCAF, go give Joe. Jeff, ah listen, my bad, I'm getting my... My word's all slipped up out here. But one more thing, we also have our own YouTube channel now that's got many of our interviews coming out as full video editions as well. ah Go subscribe, check them out. You don't want to miss them. And before you close out of your podcast listening app, ah subscribe, write us a review, share this with a friend. You can follow us on social media at onawaterbreak. And we will see you at the next rehearsal on a water break.
01:17:07
Speaker
The On A Water Break podcast was produced by Jeremy Williams and Christine Reem. The intro and outro music was produced by Josh Lida. To learn more, visit lidamusic.com. And until next time, thanks for tuning in.