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Meet the 2025 DCI Correspondents + International Tour Hacks, Drum Corps Drama & More!
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Welcome back to On A Water Break, the podcast where we talk about everything you're talking about on the sideline during a water break. This week, we're welcoming a brand-new crew — our 2025 DCI Correspondents — who'll be reporting all summer long from the road!
🫡 Hosted by Jackie Brown with Jeremy (Drum Corps Today) and Omari Holaki (Crown), this episode introduces our dynamic correspondent lineup:
- Jack Hawkins – Boston Crusaders
- Clara Bagwell – Boston Crusaders
- Petey (@peteydrums) – Spirit of Atlanta
- Zoe Duran Arambul – Seattle Cascades
🎧 In this episode:
- The story behind our DCI Correspondents Program
- What it’s really like preparing for tour (from packing tips to performance pressure)
- A hilarious 60-Second Tech Block with Omari on flying internationally with a contra
- Water We Doing?! returns with big rants on judging, social media hate, and... yelling names during shows?!
- Gush & Go: graduations, scholarships, and the joy of getting back on the field
📰 In the news:
- Pride of Cincinnati announces end of competitive program
Omari and Jackie reflect on the legacy and future of one of Color Guard’s most legendary programs.
💬 Favorite moments include:
- Clara asking “What are we doing with only one percussion judge?”
- Zoe repping the return of Seattle Cascades
- Jack’s reminder not to yell your friend’s name mid-show 🙃
- Petey’s thoughts on supporting newer performers online
📬 Want to be on the show or pitch a topic?
📨 onwaterbreakpodcasts@gmail.com
🎙 Guest form: https://linktr.ee/onawaterbreak
📲 FOLLOW US:
Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | YouTube: @onawaterbreak
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel
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🎒 This episode is sponsored by Peak Group Travel – Helping you plan your next adventure!
🌐 https://www.peakgrouptravel.com
📸 @peakgrouptravel on socials
🛍️ And shoutout to Guard Closet – Your one-stop shop for marching arts consignment, design, and more!
🌐 https://guardcloset.com
📲 Instagram & TikTok: @guardcloset | Facebook: GuardCloset | Threads: @guardcloset
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✅ Subscribe, leave us a review, and share with your band fam!
🎵 We’ll see you at the next rehearsal — On A Water Break!
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Transcript
Introduction and Special Guest Appearance
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey everyone and welcome back to On A Water Break, the podcast where we talk about everything you and your friends are talking about at rehearsal on a water break. In this week's episode, we have a very, very special one for you this week because we are talking to our 2025 DCI correspondents.
Show Announcements and Strategic Reveals
00:00:18
Speaker
We'll also find out what made Omari. Most of the horn line was so pissed off, but then we had a really good brass brass block in the gym. And why Jeremy said... We're not going announce our show until the morning of our first competition.
00:00:32
Speaker
All this and more in this week's episode of On a Water Break. Adolph the Met and go. Welcome to to On a Water Break.
00:00:43
Speaker
The podcast where we talk everything marching arts. Everyone, bring it in. It's time for a water break. Hey everyone! It's Jackie and we have a great episode this week. I am so excited for you guys to meet our five and DCI correspondents.
00:01:04
Speaker
This program is something that has literally been a dream of mine to be able to put together. We are going to be giving... but tour fee scholarships.
00:01:15
Speaker
Wonderful performers in DCI who are going to be coming at you all summer long with content from tour. So it's just going to be awesome. Like I said, I can't wait for you guys to meet them.
00:01:28
Speaker
Yeah, it's just going to be great. We've been talking over group texts for the last couple weeks and getting to know each other. And like I said, this introduction is going to be beautiful, but I want you guys to do something for me before we go and see who's on the
Listener Engagement and Scholarship Program
00:01:44
Speaker
sidelines this week. So first of all, go to your favorite listening app and make sure you subscribe to our podcast.
00:01:50
Speaker
Write us a review so I can read it. i want to have a segment where I like read reviews on the air. Let's do that some point. ah Share this episode with a friend. Make sure all of your friends are listening because if they want to contribute to our scholarship program so that we can offer larger and larger scholarships as we go, that would be awesome too.
00:02:07
Speaker
and Do you have a question or a good topic to talk about? You can email us at onwaterbreakpodcasts at gmail.com or you can find us on social media. Send us a DM and if you want to be on the show,
00:02:20
Speaker
We have a form you can fill out, so you'll just fill that out, apply to be on the show, and we will get you right here in the hot seat. Make sure check it out at our link in bio. So, who is on the sidelines this week?
Past Experiences and DCI Season Excitement
00:02:33
Speaker
Jeremy from Drum Corps Today! Hey, what's up? Hey, it feels like i was just here, but you know, it's great to be back. Well, you weren't here with me, this different ballgame now.
00:02:47
Speaker
Indeed it is. Totally different. feel like haven't seen you in forever. I love it. Thank you so much for coming tonight. It's always a blast coming to hang out with you guys. Um, Omari, who is, well, the first of our DCI correspondents that I get to introduce.
00:03:03
Speaker
Huzzah! He's also one of our regular hosts. How have you been? oh I've been great. I'm just getting ready to move now and things are starting to ramp up, but it's being, it's all good.
00:03:16
Speaker
You are literally leaving on a jet plane right after this to go to crown, right? Yeah. It's I think, Oh my gosh.
00:03:26
Speaker
And yeah. And about within the next six hours, actually. So basically by the time our listeners are listening to this, you're going to be at crown and you're just going to be doing your thing all day long.
00:03:38
Speaker
It'll be so fun. So let's take this moment to preview some of the amazing episodes and bonus content that we have had going on lately because there is so much going on.
Podcast Highlights and Bonus Content
00:03:50
Speaker
Have you guys listened to the Matt Harloff bonus episode yet? I did. finally got around to watching it. it was great. I was so excited. Oh, wait. Sorry.
00:04:03
Speaker
Okay. Well, I was just mad that I wasn't. able to be there for it. I was, I don't know what i was doing that day, but my own caption head gets on the podcast and I wasn't there.
00:04:14
Speaker
Oh man. Yeah. No, same though. I was just like, I can't, I wanted to do it so bad. And it just was like, it didn't work out scheduling wise, but that's, it's so amazing that we were able to do that.
00:04:26
Speaker
I did get to do the social media interview with Piper and Max. And let me tell you, like some of the stuff we talked about, Especially those of you who are going to be doing our DCI correspondence this summer. Make sure you watch that episode because we talked about some cool social media stuff and things about how to post and this, that, the other. Oh my gosh. was just, it was great. i And then, oh, there's another one I'm actually participating in. I'm having to do homework for.
00:04:52
Speaker
Have you guys ever heard of the book Twirl? No. It is a book about color guard, which is like, I thought I had read every Color Guard book in existence.
00:05:03
Speaker
I had not read this one yet. So I've been having to do my homework this week to read this book because we're going to interview the author of the book, Twirl.
Pride of Cincinnati Announcement
00:05:12
Speaker
So make sure. That'll be cool.
00:05:15
Speaker
Go do that. there's a Honestly, speaking of Color Guard, ah just like now that you're talking about some news that just some news that broke my mind was Pride of Cincinnati.
00:05:27
Speaker
i like Oh, yes. It hurt me inside.
00:05:32
Speaker
Lots of my friends there. So that'll be something new. It's definitely going to be new territory. So for anybody who hasn't heard, we'll probably talk about it more when we talk about news, but Pride of Cincinnati has announced that they are no longer fielding a competitive program.
00:05:50
Speaker
So they're not going to world-class guard at WGI anymore. Honestly, though, they they were such record breakers and such innovators and like... They were pretty much untouchable, i felt like, for years and years.
00:06:04
Speaker
So, yeah, it's amazing all the stuff they've done. And I'm sad that we're not going to see them at WGI. but And I'm really sad for those people who were like wanted to be a part of their competition program and don't get to now.
00:06:21
Speaker
But honestly, knowing them, I feel like there's going to be something amazing coming. I was talking to somebody else about this earlier today. And I feel like they're probably going to take all of the resources that they have now and funnel those into some incredible programs, educational programs, and you know foundational trainings and things like that and help elevate our activity beyond just competing for you know who can score the highest. stuff
00:06:53
Speaker
I don't know. We'll see how that goes. and I'm interested. Yeah, I remember seeing their announcement this morning totally out of the blue. And after reading through it it, definitely sounded like them as an organization isn't going anywhere. They're still going to be around. They're still to supporting the marching arts activity.
00:07:10
Speaker
They're just going be heading in a different direction, kind of like blast style with Star of Indiana, it kind of seems like. Well, and considering like the thing that drew me into all of this craziness, like 14-year-old Jackie was like,
00:07:25
Speaker
Like, how did I get here? It was because of Blast. And I had seen that and I'm like, man, I bet if Pride does something like that, that's going to have an even more impact. Like, it's just going to continue, like, pulling more and more people in. So, I don't know.
00:07:41
Speaker
We'll see. Oh, yeah. Just because they're not competing anymore, that doesn't mean that they're going to be going anywhere, that they're going to be disappearing or just falling off the face of the planet. They'll still be around. They'll still be quite active, just in a different capacity.
00:07:55
Speaker
All right, let's bring our next DCI correspondent for this segment.
Jack Hawkins' Journey to Boston Crusaders
00:08:02
Speaker
Jack Hawkins, welcome to the pod, sir. Hi.
00:08:08
Speaker
Hi.
00:08:12
Speaker
I am so excited that you're here. Me too. But you're going to have to do something for us now. We have a little tradition we call the 32 count life story.
00:08:23
Speaker
And I know you've listened to the pod so you know what's up, right? Okay. Everything from birth to now in 32 counts, Adolph the Mint.
00:08:36
Speaker
Okay. So I was born in Cincinnati. I was raised in Cincinnati. I've lived Cincinnati my whole life. I joined Color Guard for the first time when I was in 8th grade. Well, I started spinning on my own in 8th grade, and I taught myself until 10th grade, and then I joined Winter Guard in 10th grade, and I spun with my high school. My high school line has 600 people, so was the only person in my high school who's ever done DCI.
00:08:53
Speaker
And I did Blue Stars my second season ever. It was my first outdoor season ever. On my video audition, told them I had done outdoor before. That was not true, but it was my first outdoor season, which was really, really scary. And then I got a contract with Boston Crusaders 2025, and...
00:09:15
Speaker
lying on your audition video. That was not my proudest moment, I promise. I was watching my video and i was like, God, I shouldn't be doing this. Because like, I felt prepared because I had been involved in Color Guard for a long time, but I just hadn't officially done outdoor.
00:09:35
Speaker
I had spun outdoors so much. I mean, I used to do percussion, so I was... ah a percussion kid for four years and I actually was the section leader for my high school but I ended up wanting to do guard and I would like every break we would take I would spin outside so it was like I had already it felt like I had done two seasons but I just hadn't so I put on my audition that I had two years of high school and I was not exactly proud of that but I did do it and it didn't end up biting me in the butt thank goodness
00:10:08
Speaker
Yeah, because at Blue Stars, you showed up and they were like, oh, here's rifle, here's a saber, oh, here's your solo tosses also. but that That cold seven sit-roll knee spin might be what you're talking about. That was wild. The one that made it onto like DCI all over all of their social media. Oh, man.
00:10:28
Speaker
That was like a dream. The whole season feels like a... I can't believe that was real. Michael Shapiro giving me that toss lives on in my nightmares. Yeah.
00:10:40
Speaker
All right. So now that we know how you've gotten here, what are you most excited about this summer on tour, especially since you get to be one of our correspondents?
DCI Season Excitement and Engagement
00:10:51
Speaker
Well, I'm already antsy for the season because they have shown us a lot of things. I'm not going to say anything specific, but that we yeah know a lot of stuff.
00:11:02
Speaker
So they've given us some details and I'm really excited to see that come to fruition and be a part of it, obviously. But I also really, really, really want to...
00:11:15
Speaker
share it with the world, not necessarily tell anybody anything they're not allowed to know. i really, really am excited to like, but people see it from the other side, like not just like, you know, last year they changed their closer in July.
00:11:30
Speaker
I'm excited to like, share what that's like from a member perspective, what it's like to make changes to the show and it's like to rehearse what it's like to do drum corps from the inside, not the outside.
00:11:41
Speaker
Jeremy, are you excited about getting some of this backstage primo info from our correspondents this year? Absolutely. I'm sorry about that. I was checking my microphone. It sounded like it was getting a bit wonky at the high end. So I was just trying to check that.
00:11:59
Speaker
Just listening to the way you're describing it it, almost sounds like you guys are making a movie. It's like we've gotten part of the script. We don't know the whole picture, but we know our aspect of it. And ah hopefully in the next couple of weeks, you're going to get to share with everyone else.
00:12:12
Speaker
I mean, I'm excited to see what Boston's up to this summer. don't know about the rest of y'all, but I'm so excited for this summer. Of course, I can't say anything specific, but I can definitely say that it's exciting.
00:12:25
Speaker
it is... I'm trying to find the words without saying, I'm trying to say something without saying everything. but You can just say it. We won't tell anyone. We won't tell anyone except for this is what we're listening to now. On a public podcast with thousands of followers, I just won't blurt it out. No, but it's definitely going to be exciting.
00:12:47
Speaker
It's going to be ah thrill. It's going to be really exhilarating. So I can't wait for everyone to see it. You know, when you say stuff like that, it just makes me not, it just makes me like dread having to compete against you all summer.
00:13:04
Speaker
Cause I'm saying the same, I'm saying the same things about what we've gotten. Cause they're doing the same thing where they tell us bits and pieces, but we don't know what's going on. And I'm like, and now I'm like, what is every other group doing?
00:13:16
Speaker
They've told us lot, but obviously I can't tell anybody anything, but they told us a lot of stuff. They showed us a lot of stuff. They definitely don't want us to tell anybody. Obviously, I can't say anything, but they've told us a lot and I'm really excited. It's going to be a experience for
Introduction of DCI Correspondents
00:13:37
Speaker
the audience for sure. And it's definitely going to experience for me because I am winded. i am out of breath.
00:13:44
Speaker
We have a lot of really, really hard choreography in our hands and I am winded but i hopefully the audience is also winded after our show i mean the past few years boston's really been getting at it every year it feels like their show design has just taken a step up and up and i i just can't wait to see what you guys perform this summer i can't wait to show everyone it's gonna be he's like can i get up do it right now for you guys i would feel to do it right now but i can't of course but again we won't tell anyone
00:14:18
Speaker
what So I need to also mention that we have one of our other correspondents who we're going to be talking to in a little while. Clara is a member of the Boston Front Ensemble. So you guys are going to have to like do some bouncing ideas off each other and get some of your content coordinated.
00:14:41
Speaker
well I was in Front Ensemble for quite some time. So we're definitely going to be able to get along. Jeremy, what do you think about When you were in the front ensemble, which what did you play? i center marimba. So I was a or i was i used to be good at marimba. I was pretty obsessed with it. And i was I liked it a lot, but I just, it didn't, I don't know. It just didn't feel as good as Color Guard It was not as enticing. And I didn't, I loved it, but I didn't feel like getting any, I didn't feel like the
00:15:14
Speaker
desire to improve upon it as much as I did for Color Guard. So I really wanted to do Guard, but I was Marimba player. I have a question for Jeremy. What do you think about these drum corps, like being so secretive of their, of their show designs and coming out with their announcements with these big fancy, like you were comparing it to like a movie preview. Like, I feel like they kind of do that. They do these big movie preview type announcements. What, like, when did that start happening? do you think about it?
00:15:43
Speaker
When did that start happening? I mean, i it definitely feels like the whole trend of waiting till last second has definitely been a Bluecoats thing as much. Like, I love the core, but their trend of we're not going announce our show until the morning of our first competition. And now everyone's starting to follow that trend. I mean, we're...
00:16:02
Speaker
it's almost June already and we've gotten maybe half of the chorus to announce their shows at this point. And that's significantly less than we have in the past. But I mean, the Bluecoats, when they set a trend, everyone follows it the years after. And 2016, 2024, they really set a trend on each of those shows. And we're going to see lot of different chorus kind of following that style moving forward.
00:16:28
Speaker
All right. Well, we need to let these guys start packing. So we're going to toss it to our sponsors real quick and we'll be right back.
00:16:49
Speaker
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Role and Expectations of DCI Correspondents
00:17:04
Speaker
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Speaker
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00:17:30
Speaker
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00:17:42
Speaker
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00:17:55
Speaker
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00:18:11
Speaker
Hey, we are back. ah Jeremy from Drum Corps today and Omari are still here with me. But poor Jack, he had to go and finish packing. i i guess he's just having to decide which outfits to coordinate with which bandanas for his rehearsal days.
00:18:29
Speaker
i So, we're going to go ahead and dive in with our group of DCI correspondents. I'm so excited to meet you guys. I won't keep them on the sidelines any longer.
00:18:41
Speaker
So, please welcome Peter Coffey, a battery member from Spirit of Atlanta.
00:18:50
Speaker
Claire Bagwell, who is the front ensemble from Boston Crusaders we mentioned earlier in the episode. Hey! Hey!
00:19:00
Speaker
And Zoe Satine, drum major for the Seattle Cascades. Hi, everyone. I am so excited to get to know all of you. So in order to do this, we have this little thing on our podcast called the 32 Count Life Story.
00:19:17
Speaker
What we're going to is we're going to play eight off the Met. We will... i give you that metronome and you have 32 counts to tell us your entire life story from the moment of your birth until how you wound up here today. So, are you guys ready?
00:19:36
Speaker
Oh yeah.
00:19:39
Speaker
Alright, let's start with Petey. Alrighty.
00:19:45
Speaker
Okay, hello, my name is Petey. You might know me as Petey Drums on Instagram. Hello, that's me. I, long story short, grew up in Melbourne, Florida.
00:19:56
Speaker
I started getting into DCI in high school when I saw Downside Up for the first time on YouTube. That was the first show I ever saw. ah which super inspired me, super inspiring group.
00:20:08
Speaker
So I started getting into some indoor percussion, marched Infinity 2 this past season, and I will now be marching Spirit of Atlanta this summer because it's nearby and I was really impressed with the stuff their drumline was doing last season. So yeah. All
00:20:28
Speaker
all right, let's jump on over to Klara.
00:20:37
Speaker
Okay, hey y'all, I'm Clara and I'm from Huntsville, Alabama. I went to Sparkman High School and I did WGI there with our indoor percussion. And then I marched Colts in 21 and 22. I now go to the University of Alabama at Birmingham and spent the last three WGI seasons with Music City Mystique.
00:20:56
Speaker
And this will be my first season at Boston and it's also my age out. And I'm super excited.
00:21:04
Speaker
Age out Rachel!
00:21:11
Speaker
And finally, All
00:21:19
Speaker
right, I'm Zoe. I grew up in Washington State my entire life. I grew up as a gymnast. I was competitive for 11 years. I started doing drum corps stuff my um freshman year of high school. I started with the summit program.
00:21:35
Speaker
From there, I was on the horn line for Seattle Cascades. I ended up being the campus section leader. And then from there, I got to be the assistant drum major.
00:21:48
Speaker
And then this is my second year being head drum major for Seattle.
00:21:57
Speaker
I love that we are so spread out all over the country with everybody. This is just beautiful. So let's talk about how much you guys are excited for tour.
00:22:10
Speaker
What do you think this whole on a water break correspondent thing is going to be about? What do you feel like it's going to look like?
Personal Goals and Excitement for DCI Season
00:22:18
Speaker
Omari, you want to kick it off since well you're our host correspondent?
00:22:24
Speaker
Well, yeah, I think it's going to be a lot of fun. I already like, I mean, you've seen, if you've seen my own Instagram, I post a lot. of stuff. So already, it'll be nice to go around and just talk to, you know, people in the horn line at crown or even like some of my staff and just get some gush and goes or some water redoing. I'm really excited for the water redoing.
00:22:48
Speaker
That's the one because we have so many complaints as drum chorus just have so many complaints and it'll be so funny. I just can't wait for that.
00:23:00
Speaker
Just jump right in, guys. What do you think? What are you excited about with this? ah Hello. ah i'm I'm pretty excited. i think that, you know, this I'm very new to this activity, first drum corps season. You know, this podcast is going to talk about, you know, just a lot of the things with, you know, what the summer looks like and, you know, like the what are we doings. You know, I read about them in the but email. I'm looking forward to that.
00:23:26
Speaker
You know, i it, you know, obviously I'm new to this, so I don't have much perspective and I could gain some perspective obviously, um, cause other people in this call have March drum course. So I'm super excited for that.
00:23:45
Speaker
Yeah. I think I'm super super excited to just talk with like other people and do some, what are you doing? And i don't know, get other insights into what my friends are thinking and what my friends are doing and I don't know I'm not really big on social media I mean post like little stuff here and there but i always have fun doing stuff with my friends so I'm excited
00:24:11
Speaker
yeah I'm really excited oh sorry go ahead no go right ahead I'm really excited to see all the different uh like diversity that we all have You know, we all do drum corps, but we all have so many different experiences.
00:24:26
Speaker
I'm so excited to see what we are all have to bring in. As much as we're like on the water break and me, were as much as we're able to do from the sideline, we'll be able to see so much more on what's actually going on during the season from your guys' perspective. And honestly, I'm super excited to see yours and everyone else's different perspectives of looking into the season. It's going to be awesome.
00:24:47
Speaker
I'm excited to like live vicariously through all of you because I miss my marching days. They were a while ago and ah they brought us here. So this is going to be so much fun.
00:25:01
Speaker
So what are you guys the most looking forward to in your season? Like with your core specifically, with you specifically, maybe like as a personal goal or something like that. What are you guys...
00:25:17
Speaker
i just something personal to you. Like, what are you looking forward to for this summer? Omar, can you kick it off again? For me? Oh, yeah, for sure.
00:25:28
Speaker
For me, I think I'm looking forward to, okay, funny enough, I'm looking forward to the shenanigans as much as they they suck to go through. Like, It's just always a fun story to tell. I'll call, you know, some of my friends. I go and check up on them, you know, during the offseason. We'll talk about, like, oh, remember that time we were in Sevierville, Tennessee, and the rain went from zero to 100, and we didn't have time to pack up our stuff, and, like, most of the horn line was so pissed off, but then we had a really good bras brass block in the gym.
00:25:56
Speaker
Those shenanigans are really fun, and I'm just excited to play with Crombrass again, you know? It's just... we We get so in detail and we get so good together. And everyone everyone comes in at a really good level.
00:26:08
Speaker
But I just like the way we get good together. We to learn how to play together. That's the best part about it. You know, the best stories aren't when, oh, the weather was normal, everything went as expected. It's when things go unexpected and the weirdest things happen. That's that's what makes the best stories.
00:26:24
Speaker
Yep, you're absolutely right. and That's what you're going to want to be sharing on all of your social media too. Petey, you share a lot of stuff on social media too. what are you looking forward to? Yeah, I do. um I am most looking forward to personally becoming a freaking tank after the summer is gone because i you know I've heard all the stories about you know how you grow as a person, as a player.
00:26:50
Speaker
The biggest thing personally I'm looking to get from the summer is just how much can I grow as a player? I really want to have this just exponential growth and come out, you know, because I myself pretty good as of now, but I feel like I could be so much better and, you know, I'm going to have so much new information coming at me, but as a whole,
00:27:15
Speaker
Spirit percussion is going to be doing some really incredible things this season. I can already feel the vibes. They've been on the up. ah Last season, they were doing some really special stuff. You know, we've we've been talking, we've been meeting in calls. we're We're going to pull out something really, really special in the percussion section this year.
00:27:35
Speaker
So I'm excited for that. You know, PD, it's honestly really, really great that you're looking forward to that because it will happen, whether you like it or not. And I don't know how it is in the percussion world, but it's insane and how much the different ways you learn, you know.
00:27:53
Speaker
And always, you know, there's a fabled mid-spring training breakdown that everyone talks about in drum corps. Yeah. Where you're one day of spring training, you're here.
00:28:06
Speaker
The next one, it's just you're down there, but it'll, it'll happen. But it'll i know you're going to have a good time, especially with spirit, right? Oh yeah. Yup. It's going to be great. You're so, mean, spirit last year was phenomenal. So I hope to see, maybe you can tell us what they're cooking this season and we won't tell anyone.
00:28:25
Speaker
We will not tell us all. Gosh, it just the people listening to this podcast, no one else. Yeah, yeah, yeah, for sure.
00:28:37
Speaker
Clara, what about you? Okay, so i'm super for excited to I'm super excited for West Coast tour.
Tour Excitements: West Coast and Myrtle Beach
00:28:45
Speaker
Boston is going out to California and Colorado all of those states out there.
00:28:50
Speaker
And I've never been out west before. I think the furthest west I've been is probably like Texas or something. But I'm so, so excited. And I haven't I marched in 21 and 22, but i haven't marched drum corps the last two summers. And so I'm super excited to get back into it. And it's going so fun.
00:29:09
Speaker
Yeah, I have heard some stuff about Boston, like really, really digging deep this year because of that West Coast tour. They're going to be out there with, what, SCV and Blue Devils and... Yeah, I can't wait to see all my friends because I have friends in all those groups. And so I'm going to see them at all the shows and it's going so fun.
00:29:30
Speaker
It seems every few years we'll have some Midwest or East Coast core go out. And every time they go out, it's always an awesome time, whether it's from the performers, like they have a great time on the yeah West Coast. Plus it's such an experience getting to compete against, I mean, the Blue Devils and Santa Clara Vanguard right off the bat.
00:29:47
Speaker
It's super competitive. Exactly. exactly I wonder, have you guys heard the theories on West Coast tours about how people, this is a fabled story, how people go to get slotted early against the Blue Devils.
00:30:00
Speaker
Yeah. So who knows? You might be seeing some ranks shifting. Not against us, though. Not against us, though. Right? We'll see. We'll see.
00:30:12
Speaker
so Zoe, what is your thing you're most looking forward to this summer? Honestly, personally, Seattle Cascades have never taken, um i guess, like a break or a free day on the east side.
00:30:26
Speaker
And this year we get a free day in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. And couldn't more excited.
00:30:36
Speaker
That's going to be a fun one. I have never, i have never been to Myrtle Beach myself either. Wow. Joy. So if you ah could interview anybody.
00:30:47
Speaker
who like Who would be your dream person to get an interview with?
Dream Interviews in the Marching Arts
00:30:52
Speaker
Omari. Well, I was going to say Matt Harloff, but you guys stole him from me.
00:31:00
Speaker
So ill I'll try my hardest not to be mad about Snatched him right away. Yeah, I just took him. He's not even going to teach us this summer. Okay. um Do not believe that. DCI PR team is like running to their keyboards right now.
00:31:13
Speaker
Yeah. um But honestly, I'm more excited to, I really want to interview Joe Roach, our director. He's just a really cool guy and he's got a lot to say.
00:31:29
Speaker
He's got a lot to say in such a good way. And he also was amazing. a front ensemble member for the Cavaliers. So he's got a lot to offer story-wise on the other side that I'm not a part of, you know?
00:31:48
Speaker
Clara, what about you? Who's your dream interview? I'm not sure. i think I would love to um interview Mincona. He writes some of our music for us. works a whole lot with the Boston Crusaders front ensemble.
00:32:02
Speaker
And i love his mallets. And I had a very embarrassing interaction with him during audition season. And so would like to um redeem myself and seem intelligent.
00:32:17
Speaker
That's a good way to redeem yourself. Petey, what about you? Um, I, should I should probably know names better, but you know, personally, I've always wanted to understand, uh, scoring a little bit better.
00:32:30
Speaker
um so maybe like one of the top, you know, percussion judges, uh, I would want to interview, you know, I swear there's this one name on the tip of my tongue and I just, you know, it's not coming to me right now, but, um, you know, he's, he's one of the main guys who does DCI WGI. He's just one of the main, you know, scoring guys and, you know,
00:32:48
Speaker
I guess i would just want to understand that better and, you know, how he gives or, you know, takes points. So.
00:32:59
Speaker
I bet Jeremy could hook you up with somebody. I'll certainly look into that.
00:33:07
Speaker
um We had Julie Davia on the podcast. It's been a little while ago now, but yeah, but. We've interviewed some people. We've got some connections, but we need to set some some of that up so Petey can get the lowdown on all the scoring.
00:33:22
Speaker
That'd be sick. I want to pick their brains for that. Zoe, what about you? Who's your dream interview? ah I'm going to say Mr. Jeff Chambers.
00:33:35
Speaker
Mr. Chambers has been writing our Hornline score for quite a while now, but he also went to my high school, Kamaican High School in um Washington State.
00:33:48
Speaker
And so, you know, people talk about him a lot. And so I kind of just want to pick his brain a little bit on, you know, how was it going? Because I think he wrote his first ah like marching band score and drill when he was like a junior in high school.
00:34:06
Speaker
So I would really like to see wow um and kind of hear what his experience was.
00:34:14
Speaker
Such a small world yet again. oh Like young genius among us. Oh yeah.
Sponsorship and Cultural Experiences
00:34:24
Speaker
All right, it's time for your Peak group Group Travel Tip of the Week, brought to you by our sponsors at Peak Group Travel, helping you navigate for your next adventure, whether it's across the country or just to your next competition.
00:34:36
Speaker
Hi, everyone. It's time for your travel tip of the week with me. I'm Beth with Peak Group Travel. Performance tours are a great way to showcase your ensemble in new cities and for new audiences.
00:34:48
Speaker
But be sure to also include local attractions and sightseeing tours or cruises to give your group a full cultural experience while they're on the road. Don't forget to like and follow Peak Group Travel on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.
00:35:03
Speaker
And be sure to email info at peakgrouptravel.com when you're ready to start planning your next performance tour. This is your travel tip of the week with me, Beth, from Peak Group Travel.
00:35:28
Speaker
Ready to elevate your travel game? Welcome to Peak Group Travel, the ultimate adventure creators. Whether you're planning an unforgettable class trip, a once in a lifetime parade experience for your marching band, or a choir tour full of memorable performance venues, Peak Group Travel handles it all so you can focus on making memories.
00:35:45
Speaker
From breathtaking international destinations to amazing adventures right here at home, Peak Group Travel customizes every journey to your vision. We're not just planners, we're your partners for the trip you want for your students.
00:35:58
Speaker
Our online registration portal makes managing your pre-trip experience smooth and convenient. We even collect your payments if you'd like. Picture it. Effortless planning, unmatched experiences, and smiles that last long after the journey ends.
00:36:12
Speaker
That's the Peak Group Travel difference. And if you choose to partner with Peak on your next tour, and you mentioned that you heard about us on the On a Water Break podcast, you'll earn a $100 trip credit. Discover why groups everywhere trust Peak Group Travel.
00:36:24
Speaker
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. And be sure to visit peakgrouptravel.com today. You pick the date and we'll make it great.
00:36:43
Speaker
Okay, everybody, put your stuff down. Put your stuff down. and We can finish packing after the podcast is over. We're back. Let's do a 60-second tech block. 60-second tech block.
Packing Tips for International Travel
00:37:03
Speaker
All right, everybody. It is time for our 60-second tech blog. This is the segment where one of our hosts or guest clinicians is put on the spot to deliver a nonstop 60-second tech session on a topic that needs some serious attention after the last run.
00:37:17
Speaker
Our special tech this week has come prepared with three topics they think they can talk about for a full 60 seconds straight. No hesitations. No pauses. Just pure technical gold. And this week, we're going to throw it to Omari.
00:37:34
Speaker
Okay, okay, I'm so ready. Wait, before before we go, before we go, i have a question that's killing me. Is that Ricardo at the beginning saying 60 second tech block? Yes!
00:37:48
Speaker
did he screame at Did he scream at the end as well? 60 second tech block!
00:37:58
Speaker
tech block! There is nothing that man can't do. i don't care. what do you say he's he's got it all
00:38:10
Speaker
okay so omari your best topics your best topics that uh we have to vote from everybody else is on the pod you guys get to vote for uh what topic you want to hear about so number one is how to pack for tour when you live in another country because that's a whole thing uh two How to hold a contra all day on the crown brass line specifically.
00:38:37
Speaker
thing's heavy. And then number three, how to sustain your breath in front of Matt Harloff. That man just takes your breath away, apparently. So what do you guys think? what would What would be a good thing to talk about?
00:38:52
Speaker
Hands down, how to sustain your breath in front of Matt Harloff. That one, you got to do that one. I mean, I can. i I don't want to reveal. I might like start talking about our show.
00:39:05
Speaker
So who knows? No, I'm joking. I'm not going to do that. I'm joking. I'm not going to that. That's the one I'm voting for. I want to hear about the show.
00:39:13
Speaker
Jeremy, what do you think you should talk about? You know, after reading through all those, i'm I'm leaning towards number one. For a lot of people, like driving to spring training, easy peasy, everything's pretty straightforward. If you're flying in, especially from another country, there is so much restriction on what you can bring in, how much liquids you can bring in, what your weight capacity can bring in. It's cut down totally.
00:39:34
Speaker
i want to hear what your perspective on that would be. Yeah, I'm i'm okay with starting. After having lived in another country, I like that too, because like, You don't always know necessarily what products are going to be available when you get there either.
00:39:48
Speaker
So it's like, oh, I need to bring, don't know, my fancy shampoo or something. Claire, what do you think? I kind of want to know how you hold a contra for so long because being in the front ensemble, I sometimes have to move y'all's stuff out of the way and I had to pick one up one time and I don't know how you get that thing up there and you keep it up there all day.
00:40:07
Speaker
i could never, could never. I think we gotta stop suggesting other ones because Petey does not look too happy right now. He is. so big Petey's like, why is everyone voting for the ones that I didn't vote for?
00:40:20
Speaker
Okay, Zoe, you're gonna have to break a tie here, I think. One, the third one. All I think out of respect for all of our international students and international students wanting to come to DCI, I think we need to go on that topic.
00:40:37
Speaker
All right. Okay. I'm sorry, Petey. No, that's all good. That's a real that's a real thing, you know? i feel like I feel like number three is going to have to be something that he actually does in front of Matt Harloff when he's content creating this summer.
00:40:56
Speaker
No, that's that's kind of bad. That's a bad one. because No pressure. Yeah. ah he he like He likes to mess with me sometimes. And there's sometimes in the circle when we're warming up and he'll just stand in front of me like this.
00:41:10
Speaker
Just looking at me like that until I until i make a mistake. And then when I make a mistake, then he makes fun
00:41:17
Speaker
I mean, you're both definitely on the podcast frequently enough. So it's going to come up, I betcha. yeah
00:41:24
Speaker
All right. Omari, are you ready? We're going to do number one. Just so we're clear. We're going to talk about packing for tour when you live in another country. And Jeremy, can you pull up the 60 second timer?
00:41:38
Speaker
Here we go. 60 seconds. Okay. So packing for tour in another country. It's basically the same. You will get all the materials you need from the packing list that your core gives out.
00:41:51
Speaker
The number one thing that you have taken is obviously the liquids, which um what I like to do is say that all my things that I need that are over capacity are medical. And they're just like, go ahead. But I'm interested in how it's going to look like this time because sorry.
00:42:07
Speaker
Good tip. Oh, let me go. Oh, yeah. Anyways, I'm interested how it's going to be this time because there's a lot more restrictions now that things are changing. But with more of the like with a group, like when you know everyone, there's people ask you to buy snacks that aren't in their country.
00:42:28
Speaker
So there's things like I'm bringing ketchup chips. I'm bringing coffee crisps and like a lot of them. And they last time brought coffee crisps, they didn't even last a day, but there's, Oh, I have four seconds, but yes, it is basically the same, but you just have to be very, very careful.
00:42:45
Speaker
And that's 60 seconds.
00:42:50
Speaker
so I though. What are you going to do when Matt Harlop is out there throwing you off? I made you pause. Laugh. Try to laugh. Unless it's like a serious rep.
00:43:07
Speaker
It could be You never know. this was This was your fun rep. Oh, yep. This is the one fun one I get.
00:43:18
Speaker
you guys feel like you learned a lot from Omari about packing there? Very much so. Learned a lot. I learned that Amari is going to bring me some international snacks when I see him at shows.
00:43:32
Speaker
That's what I learned. Oh, well, aren't you? Wait, you're on the West Coast though. oh I'll see you eventually. Yeah. At some point. Yeah. We'll figure it out. Party in San Antonio. Yeah.
00:43:44
Speaker
yeah If there's any left by that time, because my room is like a meeting place for the rest of Crown Bass to try these snacks. I'm interested in the ketchup chips.
00:43:55
Speaker
I don't like them. I really don't like them. The ketchup chips are, I find them gross, but a lot of people want to try them. i feel like they're going to be disappointed, but a lot of people in Canada like them. So it's just each their own, you know?
00:44:09
Speaker
When we go to restaurants, my toddler likes to order fries with ketchup. Like so very, and he very, very pointedly says with ketchup and he'll look at the waiter and say it like that so the waiter knows to not forget his ketchup i bet he would ah adore ketchup chips
00:44:30
Speaker
well uh yeah well it's i'm gonna tell you right now it's nothing as heavenly as fries with ketchup oh that was awesome let's go ahead and go into what what are we doing what are we doing
00:44:53
Speaker
What are we doing?
Balancing Life During Offseason
00:44:56
Speaker
That was such a great 60 second tech block. Hopefully somebody out there just got the packing advice they didn't even know they needed, but it's time to switch things up. So we're going to let loose a little bit or maybe let loose a lot. Who knows?
00:45:09
Speaker
ah This is your chance to rant about something in the marching arts that just doesn't make sense. So maybe it's a tradition that needs to go. Maybe it's a habit that performers can't seem to break. Maybe it's something that makes you think,
00:45:21
Speaker
Why are we even doing this? Or why haven't we started doing this yet? Whatever it is, this is your moment to call it out. So who wants to start with something they need to get off their chest?
00:45:35
Speaker
Jeremy, you want to kick it off? Yeah, i can go first. So I've been thinking about this and I know the timing is not great with DCI starting up and like committing 110% of your energy to that over the summer.
00:45:48
Speaker
During the off season, what are we doing? focusing 100% of our energy and time and every part of us on one single thing. Because even if Drum Corps is like the thing we love,
00:46:00
Speaker
That's probably not going to be the long term thing for the for the rest of your life. And obviously, while you're touring, like you're going to be putting all your time and effort into the show that you're working on. But during the offseason, it's important to kind of split up your time, spend time on drum corps, obviously practicing, working on your technique, all that.
00:46:18
Speaker
But spend time with your friends, spend time with your family, spend time with working on your major. Don't let your classwork. sink back just because, oh, we've got a camp coming up. I got to focus on this.
00:46:28
Speaker
Try to balance everything out and find some kind of harmony between everything.
00:46:35
Speaker
That resonated with me a lot. Sorry. Yeah, no, I just want to say real quick, that resonated with me a lot because I have a lot of trouble with ah balancing everything out, especially the not practicing thing.
00:46:48
Speaker
I think I have gotten to a point where I overpractice. And so these last like, you know, few weeks before I move in, I've kind of told myself like to dial it back, you know, hang out with the homies because I'm about to not see them for a while. I'm about to do drums like every day. So, yeah, that's real.
00:47:09
Speaker
Omari, you want to do the next what are we doing?
Positive Discourse on Social Media
00:47:14
Speaker
Yes. What are we doing? Oh, oh yeah. um this is This is the one that I see all the time and I have to bite my tongue.
00:47:23
Speaker
What are we doing? Going into Instagram comment sections and talking about how much we don't like something. Now, this is personally with me because I'm Arch Promethean and that show was not very well taken by the audience at first.
00:47:44
Speaker
So being a member of Crown 24 for like the first like don't two weeks of tour was like, should we even be doing this?
00:47:55
Speaker
But you got to, and then I learned to not let that get to me. and And only just now is that show starting to get some appreciation. Like, oh, this closer is actually really good. It's not just something that John Mackey wrote that, and because we don't like John Mackey, we also don't like the crown closer, you know, or even something like,
00:48:14
Speaker
some people were saying they didn't like, for example, spirit of Atlanta is like monster, monster, like still person. And it's like, how, how do you not like that? And why are you saying it?
00:48:25
Speaker
You could just keep that to yourself and not use your thumbs for negative things. You know, that's honestly perfect. And costuming. I hear it. See it all the time for costuming and just hush Clara. What about you? What are we doing?
Percussion Judging Fairness Discussion
00:48:43
Speaker
Okay, um my what are we doing is, what are we doing about only having one percussion judge? Why isn't there a second percussion judge? Like there's no way for one judge to fully judge both the battery and the front ensemble.
00:48:57
Speaker
And what often happens is the front ensemble gets super overlooked, especially if the battery and the front ensemble are playing at the same time. And same with like WGI. In WGI, it's just percussion and there's not a separate front ensemble and battery judge.
00:49:11
Speaker
And that's just kind of silly. Like, why why are we doing that? What are we doing about this? You know? No, that's such a good point. And I know it came up during the Rules Congress. Someone proposed, oh, we should have both percussion.
00:49:23
Speaker
And it didn't pass for some reason. I know. i i know know. It's crazy. It's crazy. Jack, what are we doing?
Audience Behavior During Performances
00:49:30
Speaker
Okay. What are we doing yelling our friends' names during the show?
00:49:36
Speaker
ah understand. understand saying, you know, go you go stephanie maria but whatever but i care that you know this person and i understand that you guys are friends but i don't want you to yell the name during the show because i'm trying to i mean if somebody's yelling my name during the show don't need any help getting distracted during my show i'm already trying really hard to stay locked in facts facts i don't need help breaking during my show. I really would love to stay focused.
00:50:09
Speaker
You're fine yell after the show. Even would rather you yell after the show because I don't want to be thinking about the fact that people are watching me during my show. But during the show yelling, go this person, let's not do that.
00:50:22
Speaker
What are we doing? That's one of those things that as a performer bugged me so much that I've completely forgotten now that I haven't been performing for, you know, a decade or more.
00:50:35
Speaker
while My family knows me so well that, like, I mean, at like, prelims, they came to prelims and finals for last year's finals for Blue Stars. And my solo was right pretty much at the beginning of the show.
00:50:48
Speaker
was, like, at the end of the closer. it was completely cold, by the way. I didn't get to spin before that at all. So I was freaking out. and they knew...
00:51:00
Speaker
to cheer me on before the show or during the show because I would have gotten distracted, but I'm not a fan of the yelling someone's name during the show. That's not happening.
00:51:13
Speaker
You know, i have a funny story about like noise during a show. Actually there was, um, yeah when I think it was Nightbeat in our opener last year with Crown. We like turned to the front and there's a long... There's like, don't like six beats of just nothing you know for the opening impact.
00:51:32
Speaker
And in at Nightbeat, in those six beats, I think it was a group of seven guys yelled, play something all together. And then we had a dirty attack, but it was kind of funny. Is that the hold where all the rifles in the front tossed the seven?
00:51:47
Speaker
Yup. And then the flags come out. Yeah. Everybody was watching that part. That was awesome. Let's go. That was my favorite part of the whole show. Seriously. I know that opener is just like, it gets me wanting to run through a wall sometimes. Yup.
00:52:03
Speaker
Yup. It was hype.
00:52:07
Speaker
I love that y'all use use the same descriptors that we did about running through a wall and yeah drum corps. As much as it's changed, it hasn't changed. Great job, everyone. Set your equipment down. Touch and go.
00:52:24
Speaker
i I want to go about you guys. I want to go you go about this program because seriously, this is something that I have dreamed about for, and i mean, since I marched was like, there weren't a lot of scholarships around whenever I was marching and the ones that were around like,
00:52:41
Speaker
the internet was barely around when I was marching, to be honest. So we didn't always hear about them. um But just, I absolutely adore making social media content. It's so much fun. I love creating videos and being creative and I love socializing, talking to people. And I, you know, this kind of combines all of those things that I love and turns it into this thing that you get to do to, you know, earn a scholarship toward, you know, your marching fees. So I just, I appreciate all of you guys who are participating and this is going to be just an awesome summer for coordinating all this. It's going to lot of work, I'm sure, on on the coordination side for me, but I hope you guys really enjoy it and have a good time making all these videos.
00:53:24
Speaker
And I hope you all get to meet and take a big group picture together, okay? So we'll have to work that out somehow too.
00:53:35
Speaker
thank you guys hey it's called gush and go not gushions day let's go Thank you guys for a great rehearsal this week. I cannot believe we are actually getting to do this. So, oh, thank you so much.
Podcast Wrap-Up and Listener Engagement
00:53:48
Speaker
ah Jeremy from Drum Corps today. We know that you're going to be following these performers all summer. So. Thank you for coming. oh yeah. There won't be a moment of the summer that we won't be focused on drum corps. I know I said before, oh, don't think about, don't commit 100% to something. Yeah, this summer is going be 100% drum corps.
00:54:08
Speaker
After the season's over is what you were talking about. Yeah, during the off season, take a minute, take a breather. Yeah. But it's going to be 100% drum corps. Omari, good luck.
00:54:21
Speaker
Happy travels. And where can we find you on your socials?
00:54:27
Speaker
You can find me on Instagram at omarimholaki. That's O-M-A-R-I-M-H-O-L-A-K-I. And something new that I found that I was doing.
00:54:40
Speaker
You can find me on the Crown Tuba Rock Instagram. That is the Crown Tuba sections Instagram. I'll be running that with a few other my section mates. So we'll get some content there as well.
00:54:54
Speaker
Thanks for a great rehearsal this week. I cannot believe we finally got everybody together and got to do this. Thank you so much Jeremy from Drum Corps today. Make sure you follow all of those performers this summer and guys make sure you go follow him at Drum Corps today.
00:55:08
Speaker
Thank you so much Omari, Pete, Clara, Zoe, Jack. Follow them all summer long on the On A Water Break socials because we're posting up all of that content. If you've got a question or a good topic to talk about, email us at onwaterbreakpodcasts at gmail.com or you can find us on social media and DM us if you want to be on the show.
00:55:27
Speaker
We have a form you can fill out. Just check out our link in bio. Fill it out. We may bring you on as a guest. You could also take out your phone and make a little video to send us. Maybe you'll see yourself on the podcast soon.
00:55:39
Speaker
One more thing, don't forget about our YouTube channel. Go subscribe to that so you can see all of our lovely faces. And also before you close out of your podcast listening app, go subscribe, write us a review, share this with a friend, follow us on all of our social media at On A Water Break, and we'll see you at the next rehearsal on a water break.
00:56:01
Speaker
The On a Water Break podcast was produced by Jeremy Williams and Christine Ream. The intro and outro music was produced by Josh Lida. To learn more, visit LidaMusic.com.
00:56:13
Speaker
And until next time, thanks for tuning
00:56:20
Speaker
super