Meet The Bus

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Welcome back to the Meet The Bus Podcast!

I'm going to try my best these next couple months before the summer starts to keep getting content to you guys every single week cause that's what this channel has been about since the start!!

This week, we are finally back with Episode 20 and I got to bring on another old friend of mine, Julia Robles. I marched with her in 2016 and 2017 at the Oregon Crusaders and she went on to perform with some great groups in Phantom Regiment and Santa Clara Vanguard in 2018 and 2019. She’s also leading the Pacific Crest off-season training program this season!! I had so much fun getting to talk to Julia Robles this past week! We got to reminisce about our time in the activity performing, got to look into some of the challenges that open class corps face on a summer tour and we might’ve gotten a preview into the PC 2024 Season. It's always nice getting to hear from someone who not only marched in the activity, but is now apart of the change teaching the activity! 

I really hope you guys enjoy this episode! If you do, don't forget to like this episode, subscribe, comment down below what you enjoyed about the episode and follow the podcast on Instagram @meetthebus. #dci #drumcorps #band #marchingband 

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Editor: Jack Pantaleo  

Thumbnail: Grant Langston

- 0:00- Intro
- 1:54- Let’s Get To Know Julia
- 8:30- Getting to OC
- 12:10- Uniform Ranking Talk 
- 16:18- OC16
- 27:17- Noro + Mall of America
- 38:32- Coming Back to OC in 2017
- 52:40- Looking Back on the 2017 Season Mind Games
- 1:04:57- Avatar On The Bus + Pre Show Traditions
- 1:10:14- Moving to Phantom
- 1:19:32- What it’s like Performing Top 12
- 1:29:50- THE Phantom Lore
- 1:36:30- The First Saturday Night
- 1:41:13- Moving to SCV
- 1:54:24- Defending the Championship in 2019 
- 2:01:20- Weed, CA
- 2:04:14- Drum Corps Reality TV + FloMarching at Rehearsal 
- 2:09:00- Top 3 Drum Corps
- 2:18:30- To the Staff Side
- 2:24:34- The Challenges Open Class Faces Every Summer
- 2:32:32- Pacific Crest’s Pre Season Workout Program 
- 2:44:24- Reflection

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Welcome back to the Meet The Bus Podcast!

Disclaimer: For the first time in this podcasts history, I forgot to check the audio source before starting the recording, so unfortunately it's labtop audio from me this episode :(
 
In this weeks episode, I got the chance to sit down with another member who will be on the road for the 2024 season this summer, Matthew Iida! Matthew is the founder of the rising social media page DrumCorpsLink, so we talked a good amount about where that started from and you can find it on all platforms  @DrumCorpsLink . It was really nice to hear from someone who not only has marched in this new era of DCI, but also marched pre-COVID era as well! Getting to hear about the challenges of a young group like Genesis in 2019 compared to the groups at the top of the activity in Santa Clara Vanguard and the Blue Devils. I haven't had anyone on the podcast yet who's marched SCV so to especially hear about some of the behind the scenes challenges with that 2022 and 2023 season was eye opening as to how hard it is to keep a drum corps on the road year after year. 

I really hope you guys enjoy this episode! If you do, don't forget to like this episode, subscribe, comment down below what you enjoyed about the episode and follow the podcast on Instagram @meetthebus. #dci #drumcorps #band #marchingband 

APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meet-the-bus/id1707078072

SPOTIFY: https://spotify.link/7bnPGvewBDb

AMAZON MUSIC: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/658...

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Editor: Erick Booth- https://www.erickbooth.com 

Thumbnail: Grant Langston

- 0:00- Intro
- 1:30- Let’s get to know Matthew
- 6:00- What is DrumCorpsLink?
- 5:20- Audition Season Topics
- 25:05- First Summer with Genesis in 2019
- 35:15- Establishing a Routine
- 47:50- How Genesis Set Up The Future
- 53:58- Moving to SCV
- 1:03:15- Talking the 2022 Season for SCV
- 1:12:52- Reacting to SCV Folding in 2023
- 1:16:40- Moving to BD 
- 1:24:35- Being A Blue Devil in 2023
- 1:39:55- Mindset on Tour with BD
- 1:46:15- BD Finals Week Magic
- 1:50:00- Why BD 23 Was So Special
- 1:54:25- Reflection

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Welcome back to the Meet The Bus Podcast!

In this weeks episode, I had so much fun getting to sit down with Matthew Ezeh and talk all things drum corps with him. Ezeh is currently out in LA working for Warner Chappell, but in this episode we talked about his short time in DCA with Alliance, we rehashed some old memories of the 2017 season with the Oregon Crusaders and then we just talked all about his time with The Cavaliers as a member and his time on the brass staff. I was really excited to hear about this, but towards the end of the episode we got to talk about his most recent teaching experience on the Spirit of Atlanta brass staff this past summer and it was incredible to hear how they were able to pull it off. Ezeh is someone who is never afraid to be himself and speak his mind, so while there was some friendly trash talk ;) we had an incredible conversation about the activity and I learned so much from him by the end of it all.

I really hope you guys enjoy this episode! If you do, don't forget to like this episode, subscribe, comment down below what you enjoyed about the episode and follow the podcast on Instagram @meetthebus. #dci #drumcorps #band #marchingband 

APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meet-the-bus/id1707078072

SPOTIFY: https://spotify.link/7bnPGvewBDb

AMAZON MUSIC: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/658...

SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS :)

Editor: Erick Booth- https://www.erickbooth.com 

Thumbnail: Grant Langston

- 0:00- Intro
- 1:37- Let’s Get to Know Ezeh
- 8:00- The DCA Experience with Alliance and 3 Years is the Perfect Time
- 15:10- Finding The Oregon Crusaders in 2017
- 27:36- The Summer of 2017 With OC
- 45:50- The Process
- 49:08- Finding Cavaliers in 2018
- 55:25- Getting in the Trombone Ensemble
- 58:56- 70th Anniversary Season with Cavaliers
- 1:04:12- ATL Home Show Dome Show
- 1:10:05- Cavaliers Encore Talk
- 1:15:30- Talking That Shit
- 1:28:42- Ezeh Becoming THE Guy at his Program
- 1:36:04- The 2-Liter Story
- 1:39:54- Coming Back From a Suspension Season in 2023 With SOA
- 1:46:55- Working With Freddy Martin
- 1:48:06- Staying Fresh With Feedback on Staff
- 1:50:55- Reflection

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Welcome back to the Meet The Bus Podcast!

In this weeks episode, we had our first guard guest on the podcast and we had a BLAST!! We had Ben Smith on for this one, and it was so fun getting to hear from a guest who's still active in DCI and just the marching world in general. We had a lot to talk about right away with Ben's first summer being the 2021 COVID Season with Carolina Crown, so we dove right into that and what that experience was like. I also got the chance to be a complete nerd and ask all of my questions about guard that I was curious about since I've only really known the brass prospective of the activity. We also got to talk about how cool it was to perform the 2022 Carolina Crown show, "Right Here, Right Now" and how in 2023 it was a complete 180 from a performance aspect with the show concept. Overall, Ben is a superstar who does A LOT in the marching arts, so if you are currently in marching band wanting to be in DCI or you're in DCI then this episode is for YOU!

I really hope you guys enjoy this episode! If you do, don't forget to like this episode, subscribe, comment down below what you enjoyed about the episode and follow the podcast on Instagram @meetthebus. #dci #carolinacrown  #drumcorps #band #marchingband 

APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meet-the-bus/id1707078072

SPOTIFY: https://spotify.link/7bnPGvewBDb

AMAZON MUSIC: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/658...

SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS :)

Editor: Erick Booth- https://www.erickbooth.com 

Thumbnail: Grant Langston

- 0:00- Intro
- 1:10- Let’s Get To Know Ben
- 11:23- First Year..COVID Year?
- 17:10- What Project 21 Was Like
- 27:00- PTD
- 31:55- The Guard Audition Process for Dummies (Jeffrey's The Dummy)
- 42:32- Learning A Show From the Guard Perspective 
- 45:50- How To Manage This Busy Life
- 49:45- What Performing Right Here, Right Now Was Like Night After Night
- 1:03:15- Coming Back to Crown 
- 1:06:42- Knights at The CrownTable in 2023
- 1:12:20- Ben's Main Character Moment
- 1:16:30- The Mental Battle of Drum Corps
- 1:20:10- Being on The Staff Side of Band
- 1:28:42- Reflection

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Welcome back to the Meet The Bus Podcast!

In this episode, I got the chance to have an incredible conversation with someone who actually taught me during my first ever band camp! This week, we got Andrew Reader on the podcast and what an episode it was. We got to cover everything from his performing career as a Tuba player with the Colts and Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps to his now teaching career as a Low Brass Tech with The Troopers! There are so many awesome stories in this podcast spanning from 2013 all the way to right now! I know this is a longer episode, but I promise it's worth every minute and you aren't gonna wanna miss it.

I really hope you guys enjoy this episode! If you do, don't forget to like this episode, subscribe, comment down below what you enjoyed about the episode and follow the podcast on Instagram @meetthebus. #dci #blueknights #drumcorps #band

APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meet-the-bus/id1707078072

SPOTIFY: https://spotify.link/7bnPGvewBDb

AMAZON MUSIC: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/658...

SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS :)

Editor: Erick Booth- https://www.erickbooth.com 

Thumbnail: Grant Langston


- 0:00- Intro
- 7:10- Let’s Get To Know Andrew
- 23:27- Talking About Rookie Drum Corps Things and 2013 Colts
- 42:50- Coming Home After A Summer
- 50:32-The Dark Side of the Rainbow in 2014
- 1:05:13- The Main Character+ the breakdown of the the 2014 Show
- 1:16:48-Getting into Carolina Crown 2016 
- 1:30:50-Going Inside the Circle of the 2016 Carolina Crown Drum Corps
- 1:40:48- A Story of Tough Times in The Summer and finding the “Why” in This Activity
- 1:50:23- 3 Captions…3rd Place
- 1:57:17- Things Change for 2017 Crown
- 2:02:17- Andrew’s Rollercoast Season in 2017
- 2:19:28- Making the Ageout Worth It
- 2:26:11- Lucas Oil is Different
- 2:29:57- LET'S Move On to Teaching
- 2:34:25- The Rise of The Troopers from 2021
- 2:45:08- Troop Making History 2022
- 2:52:56- Reflection

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Welcome back to the Meet The Bus Podcast!

On this episode, I got the chance to sit down with one of my section leaders in 2019 with the Blue Knights, Nick Martinez! He marched trumpet with Horizon Drum and Bugle Corps in 2016 and then went on to march with Blue Knights from 2017-2021. We got to cover everything from the experience he had in Soundsport that got him prepared for the rest of his career with the Blue Knights to how the activity changed by the time he was all done in 2021 and what we think of the future of this activity. If you are someone who's thinking about doing drum corps or someone who is currently in the activity then this is the episode for you. We talk a lot about how to handle the tough parts of the activity, but also shed light on how this activity ultimately changed our lives for the better, so I hope you guys enjoy!

I really hope you guys enjoy this episode! If you do, don't forget to like this episode, subscribe, comment down below what you enjoyed about the episode and follow the podcast on Instagram @meetthebus. #dci #blueknights #drumcorps #band

APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meet-the-bus/id1707078072

SPOTIFY: https://spotify.link/7bnPGvewBDb

AMAZON MUSIC: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/658...

SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS :)

Editor: Erick Booth- https://www.erickbooth.com 

Thumbnail: Grant Langston

- 0:00- Intro
- 1:00- Let’s Get To Know Nick
- 18:48- First Summer With Horizon
- 38:53- Moving to World Class
- 43:00- Finding Blue Knights and the 2017 Season
- 1:02:30- Slotting
- 1:11:07- Coming for 2018 Blue Knights
- 1:13:24- The 60th Anniversary Season
- 1:21:38- I Remember Everything In 2019 With BK
- 1:37:50- COVID Strikes+ Ageout Rageout
- 1:40:00- The Origin of Meet The Bus
- 1:52:42- Looking Back and Thinking About The Future of DCI

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#dci #carolinacrown #drumcorps #band 

Welcome back to the Meet The Bus Podcast!

On this episode, I got the chance to sit down with someone I've known for awhile now, but I never got the opportunity to pick his brain about his time activity so we did it today! I had on Taylor Womack and what a story he has. Taylor marched mellophone for Carolina Crown from 2014-2016, came back to Crown to be on tour admin staff in 2017, took a year off in 2018 and came back to teach on Music City's brass staff in 2019, and to cap it all off he worked for Carolina Crown at their HQ down in South Carolina. We had so much to talk about in this podcast from Taco Crew 2014 to Finals Week 2015 and even a scary beginning to the 2016 season for Taylor, so while it is a longer episode I promise you don't want to miss a second of this! Taylor is an awesome dude with a great story that I know you guys will enjoy!

I really hope you guys enjoy this episode! If you do, don't forget to like this episode, subscribe, comment down below what you enjoyed about the episode and follow the podcast on Instagram @meetthebus.

APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meet-the-bus/id1707078072

SPOTIFY: https://spotify.link/7bnPGvewBDb

AMAZON MUSIC: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/658...

SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS :)

Editor: Erick Booth- https://www.erickbooth.com 

Thumbnail: Grant Langston

- 0:00- Intro
- 0:59- Catching YOU Back Up
- 4:06- Let’s Meet Taylor
- 14:13- Getting Into Crown 2014
- 22:07- The Highs and Lows of Rookie Year Things
- 30:38- 2014 Trampoline Crew
- 33:40- Tour Jobs
- 37:58- Wrapping up 2014
- 44:58- We’re On To The Next One
- 47:50- We All Do Annoying Shit
- 50:48- Creating Moments in 2015
- 1:03:17- Take Appreciation For The Small Things
- 1:05:40- The Highly Debated Topic
- 1:13:00- Taylor goes Zero to HIM
- 1:15:30- How 2016 Went Left
- 1:22:15- And We Back?
- 1:27:45- We’re Gonna Do Us, And Do It Damn Well
- 1:31:45- What NightBeat Is Like
- 1:35:32- Getting To Finish Strong in 2016
- 1:45:03- Becoming Tour Admin + A Day in The Life
- 1:53:05- The Misconceptions About Behind The Scenes Operations
- 1:54:27- Time Off + Teaching @ Music City
- 2:05:15- Working @ Crown HQ
- 2:14:20- COVID, The Present and The Future
- 2:24:03- Reflection

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#dci #drumcorps #colts #blueknights  

Welcome back to the Meet The Bus Podcast!

On this episode, I got the opportunity to interview one of my very good friends Zach Adams!! We are back in person for this episode and what a blast it was! Zach marched with the Colts Drum and Bugle Corps from 2016-2019 on trumpet and also marched Freedom Percussion on cymbals in 2018. We’ve been close for a long time with going to high school and college together for a little bit, so we just had a blast in this episode. We got into some DCI and WGI talk, got into some silly UDB (Ultimate Drill Book) stories from when the app first came out and we even have a fun story for you at the end about our time at the DCI Murfreesboro show from this past summer! Zach has such an interesting story about how he got into the activity and how he came into his own, and it was just such a fun conversation so I hope you guys enjoy!

I really hope you guys enjoy this episode! If you do, don't forget to like this episode, subscribe, comment down below what you enjoyed about the episode and follow the podcast on Instagram @meetthebus. 

INSTAGRAM: https://instagram.com/meetthebus?igsh...

APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meet-the-bus/id1707078072

SPOTIFY: https://spotify.link/7bnPGvewBDb

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SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS :)

Editor: Erick Booth- https://www.erickbooth.com 

Thumbnail: Grant Langston

• 0:00- Intro
• 4:00- Get to Know Zach
• 13:10- First Audition
• 19:00- Rookie Year With The Colts 2016
• 31:18- Back for Year 2 in 2017
• 46:57- WGI Talk
• 50:20- Coming Back for 2018 Colts
• 56:20- The G.O.A.T Chad Miller
• 1:00:57- Ultimate Drill Book Talk
• 1:04:22- Design Staff for Colts 2019
• 1:09:33- Last Questions
• 1:16:13- DCI Murfreesboro 2023 Story

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Welcome back to the Meet The Bus Podcast!

In this episode, I had a blast getting to talk one of my best friends, Nick Hmeljak! Nick marched trumpet for the Troopers in 2019 and the Blue Devils in 2022, and we also taught high school band together in 2021. Nick has one of the strangest journeys in DCI that I've ever heard, so you're going to have to listen to this one because it's truly unlike anyone else who's been on the show so far. There was so many laughs in this episode, so I hope you guys laugh along at home as we both tell some fun stories and discuss the future of DCI!

I really hope you guys enjoy this episode! If you do, don't forget to like this episode, subscribe, comment down below what you enjoyed about the episode and follow the podcast on Instagram @meetthebus.


APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meet-the-bus/id1707078072


SPOTIFY: https://spotify.link/7bnPGvewBDb


AMAZON MUSIC: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/658...


SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS :)


Editor: Erick Booth- https://www.erickbooth.com 

He made a little cameo at 22:33 by the way lol

Thumbnail: Grant Langston

- 0:00- Intro
- 3:45- Nick’s Background
- 12:15- Nick’s Rookie Year of Drum Corps + 21:20 is a clip
- 22:50- Tradition Talk 
- 25:31- Breaking Boundaries in 2019
- 29:10- Advice to The Next Generation 
- 31:30- Rounding Out Nick’s Time with Troop
- 36:27- Me and Nick Teach Together??
- 42:08- Nick Gets GOOD
- 46:45- How Nick Got to BD in 2022
- 1:00:20- The CULTURE at BD
- 1:06:48- Talking Tempus Blue 
- 1:18:49- BD Finals Week Magic
- 1:22:32- Reflection Time

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On this episode, we had on the new CEO of Drum Corps International, Nathan Boudreaux! With Nate just starting the position last week, this was more of an introduction episode for him, so we got into Nate's background and what he learned throughout his time in the sports industry. We also talked about how the CEO position for DCI came into the picture and what the community can look forward to going into 2024. I'm so excited about the future of DCI after this interview and I hope you guys feel the same way!

I really hope you guys enjoy this episode! If you do, don't forget to like this episode, subscribe, comment down below what you enjoyed about the episode and follow the podcast on Instagram @meetthebus.


APPLE PODCASTS: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/meet-the-bus/id1707078072

SPOTIFY: https://spotify.link/7bnPGvewBDb

AMAZON MUSIC: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/658...

SHARE WITH YOUR FRIENDS :)

Editor: Erick Booth- erickbooth.com

Thumbnail: Grant Langston

- 0:00- Intro
- 1:05- Nate’s Background
- 7:45- How DCI Came Into The Picture + What Goes Into CEO
- 15:58- The Fees
- 19:10- Taking it Day by Day to Grow DCI
- 28:17- The Exciting Future of the Activity