What a Blast!

Last night I went up to New Jersey to catch Blast! along with my son's band. And a Blast! it was!

This was his first live viewing of Blast!, although I reminded my son that he did get to see this show in its earliest incarnation, "An Evening of Brass Theatre", when the show came to North Carolina on July 4, 1994. Of course, he wasn't even 2 years old ...

Blast! is a theater event, and so it is helpful to remember that although the cast and interpretation changes, much like any other Broadway show, the storyline remains essentially unchanged. This cast seems to be less mature than previous, or at least less experienced. I am eager to see the what happens over the next five weeks before they come to Baltimore. However, accustomed as we may be to seeing a different show every year in band and drum corps, or a different Cirque du Soleil event, Blast! has tinkered very little with the script.

The "Bolero" opener and the "Malaguena" closer are perfect ways to ease in to the show and to end with a splash, particular a splash of red! (Although others may associate this music with the Madison Scouts, I always go back to my favorite show of the Boston Crusaders, 2000's Red.) There was colorful (a blast of color!) interplay with the guard/visual ensemble, particularly in the second act, which brought them out more.

"Appalachian Spring" is a classic, and creatively presented with the guard-as-musicians. But the kids really loved "Battery Battle", a percussive talent war! I will say that one of the - drummers? - put a new meaning to playing by ear, and their mistakes/drops were well covered to the point you wondered, "Was that a real mistake, or a fake mistake?"

The use of blacklight for the percussion and guard really highlighted the precision and skill in using the "equipment". This is so very hard to convey on the football field stage.

If I had a criticism, it was the way that "Medea" - a violent piece of music if there every was one - is not being interpreted terribly differently from its 1993 introduction on the football field. What was innovative then seems rather plain now. Also, at times, the percussion in it's "Marimba Spiritual" seemed to be ripping from "Stomp". Perhaps my familiarity and wanting to see something different is what drives this feeling; the audience's familiarity with "Stomp" did not leave them feeling the same way, however. (I told the band's percussion instructor I thought it was too long; he said it wasn't long enough!)

What really stood out, and I hope the kids take from this, is the thrill of performance, not just playing the notes, or doing the spins. It is that chasm between playing the music you know and performing the music you feel that few players see, much less jump.

A quick comment on the venue. Billed as the Commerce Bank Arts Center, it is really a high school auditorium. On steroids. Wonderful acoustics, plush and plentiful seating with a nice sight line! We band parents were completely amazed and wondered what the return on investment is. I think this was public money well spent.

Oh, and one last thing - there are a lot of drum corps people have helped make Blast! what it is. But to me there is always one guy with the original vision, the guy who put his money where his idea was, hired great people, and got out of the way. Because he never forgot this was for the kids, because he is the easiest guy to sit next to in the stands, because he is passionate about his passions (whether drum corps or Blast!, the town of Bloomington or a catamaran, his family or "his kids") ... Bill Cook ... thank you!

Band IS Advanced Placement

About this time of year, especially here at home, thoughts turn to the coming of spring, and the coming of fall. Spring because it has been COLD; fall because it is time to sign up for next year's classes.

I don't have empirical evidence, but I believe that most kids drop out of music (band and orchestra) during the transition between school buildings, from the elementary to the middle to the high school. There are a variety of reasons - peer pressure, music isn't cool, loss of interest, and around this community athletics and grades.

I can write paragraphs (and maybe will in the future) on the athleticism of marching music (T-shirt #1: "If football were harder, it would be band") and winter guard (T-shirt #2 - "If cheerleading was harder, it would be color guard.") But this is about the academics of band.

The pressure is strong for taking honors and advanced placement classes. "We have to give the kids a leg up academically." "Middle school is practice, but high school counts" (as I have reminded my high schooler, well, countless times). Math. Science. English. Social Studies. But art? Music? There are no AP classes there! (Caveat: My oldest son is fortunate to be in a school where they do have AP Music Theory.)

I have been playing a small role in connecting the middle school to the high school, trying to retain kids in the band program. Half will drop out. Maybe more. We focus on the fun, the challenge, the friends - kids talking to kids. But here's a message for the adults: Band IS Advanced Placement, and you know it, especially if you were a beneficiary of band, as I was.

Advanced Placement teamwork. Advanced Placement talent cultivation. Advanced Placement governance and social structures. Advanced Placement math and geometry. (Yes, music is math, and so is marching!) Advanced Placement goal setting and goal reaching.

High school honors and advanced placement get you into college, maybe a good one. A good college and gets you into your first job or graduate school. All of that is important. But ... after that ... it's about teamwork. Talent cultivation. Personal discipline. Getting along in a governance and social structure. Setting and reaching goals.

We know band students do better on the SATs and ACTs. But that's not the total story. Band will place you somewhere totally unrelated to music.

In his book ReImagine!: Business Excellence in a Disruptive Age (page 280), Tom Peters quoted John Merrow in USA Today: "What actually correlates with success are not grades, but 'engagement' - genuine involvement in courses and campus activities. Engagement leads to 'deep learning.'" Tom himself wrote (page 278) - or rather, ranted - this: "Budget crunch? First programs to be cut? Art and Music. I say ... the h*** with the math budget. (I really don't mean that.) Let's enhance the art budget and inflate the music budget. Training in Creativity is important, in general. But it is absolutely essential in this Age of Intangibles & Intellectual Capital."

I am curious ... among the leaders of our country, how many were in a disciplined music program? How does that compare to the overall population? I don't know, but I'd bet we will find out something ... that Band IS Advanced Placement.

P.S. As I write this - my oldest is somewhere reading a movie, my second is practicing juggling, my third practicing his saxophone, and my fourth is drawing and coloring picture after picture of airplanes. And I'm happy to say that on the TV is channel 690 - Cinema (Soundtracks!).

Marching Music's Major League - a video critique

Yesterday Drum Corps International released a new promotional video. If you haven't seen it, click on the logo below. Go on. I'll wait!

Look, it's so very hard for me to be critical of any effort to spread the word about drum corps. But as a former DCI Marketing Committee member, a former president of a drum corps' board (and former member of a world champion corps' board) and someone who has helped promote shows, I guess I can comment on this as someone who is more than a fan.

DCI says, "The spot is designed to inform prospective fans, sponsors and members of the media about DCI’s far-reaching artistic, educational and organizational influence as it continues to emerge as an international brand of highly-skilled musicians and performers."

I say ... This doesn't do it.

For the person who is a casual or curious fan, who wants to know what drum corps is before spending bucks on tickets, we are a media, sponsorship, website ... the kids? Where do they come from? How old are they? Where are the corps from? What are their styles? What can I expect to see? to hear?

For the media, read above. Does this really tell what drum corps is? No. It doesn't help me write a feature story about the corps coming to my town (because as a show promoter, that is the ticket-selling PR we want, not a post-show write up!).

This video is targeted at the corporate types who have marketing and sponsorship dollars to spend. Dollars we covet. And that's not bad. But the video is far from informational, or even "promotional". It is all about business development.

Now, that is okay, but here are some problems that came to mind.

What the heck is "Marching Music's Major League"? Why isn't that logo (used above) used throughout, complete with color? Color is cheap when you are using digital images; it only gets expensive when you start to use ink. (And besides, when you see the logo, does anyone else out there immediately think MLB or NBA, not DCI?) If you are going to have a brand image, for pete's sake, have a brand image!

And the musical score to the video. You would think it would be all about showcasing Marching Music's Major League. But does not. Nope. The only time you hear a drum corps is from about 1:50 to 2:00 in the video - :10 ... 2.5%! ... of the 6:30. And who is it? Not to dis' them, but the 1975 Troopers!

It could have been the 1975 Madison Scouts (champions), or Blue Devils. The video and style is 30+ years old, precisely the image DCI should be trying to NOT portray.

Why can't we use the actual corps' music? (You can get copyright clearance, even for website impressions.) The sound of the brass, the drive of the percussion, the product itself!

Maybe the show promoters can use this as well, but there is a lot in there that is DCI that is not about the local shows. It is the big picture, and only somewhat helpful on the little picture side. Maybe some re-editing for their use would help. But even then, I don't know if it is enough, or if it can be enough ... or even if it should be the intent.

Drum corps is a hard sell. The saying is, "For those who don't understand, no explanation is possible. For those that do, none is necessary." If this is an effort to close the gap, I'm afraid it doesn't succeed.

March 2nd

Or, as I call it,
TEXAS INDEPENDENCE DAY !!

The book "American Band" (have you read it yet?) may have been about a band from Indiana (home to Bands of America and DCI, I know - my darling beloved is a Hoosier!) but Texas is where band is celebrated! Texas Monthly has done wonderful stories about bands, a Texas band is the current Bands of America Champion (see two posts back), Texas is where I fell in love with band and drum corps, and Texas is where - like a lot of people across the ages - a drum corps scrawled "GTT"* on the door post and is seeking out new and better days. (Will they make it? We don't know. But they will try!)

Band are big! Bandmasters are big! Stadiums are big! Crowds are big!

Although I haven't lived there in nearly 20 years, "You can take the boy out of Texas, but you can't take the Texas out of the boy!"

* GTT ... Gone to Texas!