August 5, 2025 – Delphos, Ohio
1:00 PM
Chuck and I are at a McDonald’s somewhere in Western Ohio. He is on a call with a client, and I am finally catching up you on our tour of DCI shows. Big Sound in Motion was another successful show for the Boston Crusaders. Joined by Carolina Crown and Colts, and an impressive line-up of All-age DCI corps, BAC capped off the evening with another win and left another massive figurative crater in central Pennsylvania. Before going into the stadium, we visited the lot where we followed the BAC brass. Mahler’s Second Symphony capped off a great warm-up led by Wes Booker, BAC’s award-winning Drum Major. Eighty brass horns playing in a semi circle is Impressive sound that reaches deep inside and riles up the emotion that starts cerebrally and manifests itself physically with chills, tears, and body rushes. This is BAC’s most impressive horn line since I began following them in 2017. To see them ranked number one in DCI is very rewarding because I have such a good relationship with the brass staff.
Three hundred and seventy-five miles of twisty-turny Pennsylvania and Ohio Turnpikes, and boom, we made it to Canton in time to check into the value hotel, take a nap, and have a nice dinner at the Fat Head Brewery in Canton before attending Innovation in Brass. This is the home show of the Bluecoats, with an impressive line-up of work class corps, including five of the top six ranked corps – Bluecoats, Boston Crusaders, Blue Devils, Phantom Regiment, and Carolina Crown. Troopers, Colts, Blue Knights, Pacific Crest, and Madison Scouts led us off before intermission. The final score placements reflect this order. This was the last show of the regular season. Each of the corps pushed themselves to a high performance level under the cooling late summer sky, and under our watchful eyes and expectant ears. The 2025 drum corps fans have not been leaping out of their seats for some reason. Many of the shows challenge us to stay riveted, watching, listening, and wondering. This is true of the Bluecoats show. I swear they turned up the volume at Innovation and Brass, both the performers, and the techs.
Following the show, friends and travelers pontificated on Boston’s second place to ad nauseam as we whiled away the late evening hours out on the hotel patio. I choose not to get too into the debate about anomalies in scoring categories, biased judges, or other theories of reasoning for the scores that result. What I know is that both Bluecoats and Boston have highly entertaining shows that are being performed at the very highest level, but they are very different in design and concept. It seems impossible to me that mere humans can subjectively compare them.
My thirty minutes are up. We are making progress across Ohio into Indiana. This is our second pit stop. Our first was in Bucyrus, Ohio, for a cruise along the old Lincoln Highway and a stop to visit the awesome murals in town. Our next stop is Fort Wayne, Indiana, for a visit to my favorite music store – Sweetwater before we head to Marion, IN, for the Open Class Championships later this evening. Peace out for now.
8:30 PM – Wesleyan University, Marion Indiana
I’m sitting here with the seasoned alumni of the unaffiliated, undefeated, undeterred, indefatiguable drum corps in a quiet place in the lot of Wesleyan University. Tonight is the DCI Open Class Championships. Some in our party plan to attend the championships, some plan to sit and let the miles traveled, and show experiences wash over us with words and laughs.
It takes a lot of miles traveled to enjoy this unique American youth activity. We have logged well over one thousand miles so far in the pursuit of those precious moments of being in front of such amazing performance in person. To make the days of travel more interesting, I have always built in some time to experience other sites and activities. One such side destination today was Sweetwater, a large online retailer of musical instruments and equipment. I had discovered this company while shopping for percussion equipment for my band room. Sweetwater has outstanding customer service. Visiting the gigantic showroom and talking to a few of the technicians on the floor was a treat. I spent a few minutes in the piano room to test out a half dozen pianos.
August 7, 2025 – Indianapolis, Indiana
After roughly fifteen hundred miles, traveling from my humble home along the Mill Brook to Boston, Allentown, Downingtown, Canton, and Marion for six drum corps shows in as many days, I am now in Indianapolis. Whew! With caffeine, cruise control, and rock n’ roll, traveling at breakneck speed, driver Chuck and I sped along the high side of the left lane most of the way here, arriving mid-day yesterday. After dropping off the rental we had ridden hard, we began our role as pedestrians. Indianapolis is a very walkable city. We arrived in time to settle into the hotel and then head out for dinner at Kilroy’s. On the way back, Chuck, John, Marcia, and I stopped into the Crown Plaza Converence Center for a visit with K. Kawai. This is my same-time-next-year relationship while in Indy. She is black and white and gives back love when touched. I returned later for a more intimate session, stroking her 88 keys with emotion compiled over the summer-long drum corps tours.
It was great to meet up with many folks that I see every year at the Hall of Fame celebration, and some new ones. One such person is Blake, an alum of the Velvet Knights and a sponsor of DCI. Earlier in the day, we met another alum who had given us a rubber ducky painted as a shark. Knowing that this little momento meant more to an alum, I handed it to Blake as he was wearing a Velvet Knights jacket. Boom! Another drum corps friendship is born. Blake runs a company called WeScanFiles.com supporting DCI and Drum Corps World magazine.
My drum corps friends and colleagues are growing each year, providing little time for anything else but socializing. These gatherings, as depicted by the Blue Devils, are mini-annual reunions of a sort. Some folks are not with us any longer. One such person is Donny Allen, a drum corps legend, and music teacher extraordinaire. Donny’s passing from the raveges of cancer is a sad overlay of the otherwise happy times among those still here. I have had the privilege of knowing Donny for the past few years and have enjoyed his presence next to me in the stands in Allentown. He called me out of the blue just before heading on tour. I had a ticket for him. He is missed.
Today is a show day. Day one of the DCI World Championships. It’s time to clam up this computer for now and prepare for the assault next door in the giant brick fortress of sound.