If you‘ve noticed the lack of new posts on this blog in the last month, it’s because there has been a swirl of activity behind the scenes, including a redesign of part of this website and the launch of a new project, the Marching Roundtable podcast.

New to this website are new pages for Marching Music and Concert Music. Click on those links and you’ll see new MP3 players, and now each marching show has its own page where you can learn more about the show, listen to an MP3 of the music, and even watch a video of a performance in many cases. Thanks to Jay Owen and his team at Design Extensions for doing such a great job.

The Marching Roundtable Podcast was an idea that came from John Bogenschutz, a composer and comic strip artist. When John called to pitch the idea of a marching podcast, it immediately seemed like a good idea, and we were shocked to find that there was not one out there already! John is a terrific musician and has a lot of experience in the marching field to draw upon.  He has served most dramatically as the “Tech” guy for this project, designing and manning the website, and doing the recording and posting of the podcast episodes. Plus his wit and humor is a great addition to our conversations.

As we were searching around for others to include in the “core host team” on the podcast, I immediately thought of my great friend, Mary White. Mary and I work together designing the visual and guard programs for MANY band shows each year. She also has the background of a lifetime involvement in the marching arts and she is one of the most talented guard instructors and designers in the country. On top of all this, she is a dedicated and passionate educator, serving as an elementary school principal and approaching all marching activities with an eye on the educational needs of the students and the responsibilities of the teachers. Her input has been incredibly valuable.

Probably the greatest moment of genius came from John Bogenschutz, when he suggested that I ask Joe Allison to be a part of this project. Joe and I had shared a furious volley of emails and Facebook messages last summer when I had such a strong reaction to the DCI shows. The corps gave me much to consider and contemplate and Joe turned out to be the perfect person to ruminate with over the state of the marching arts. Joe was enthusiastic about the podcast from the start, and brought us the great immediate advantage of “cache’.” Joe is simply one of those people that everyone in the Drum Corps and Band worlds has great respect for, both as a top adjudicator and as an educator. In short, he made us respectable from the get-go, and has brought his unique perspective and humor to all of our work so far.

As we hoped, the marching community has been incredibly generous and supportive of this endeavor already. A giant list of “big names” in the marching world have already agreed to be our guests on these podcasts, and more are signing up all the time. Our first guest, Jay Kennedy, is a member of the DCI Hall of Fame and a renowned adjudicator, educator, and composer. David Starnes from Kennesaw Mountain HS joined us next for an honest and heart-felt discussion about his philosophies of teaching and designing shows. (I was so moved and impressed by this podcast that I sent a message to all of my band clients specifically asking them to listen to what David had to say!)

Next we talked with Michael James, one of the top creative minds in guard world, and the guy who created that amazing movement feature in the Cavaliers’ “Frameworks” show. I can’t believe I know the guy that did that, and he is my friend! And next up for the podcast…the incomparable Michael Cesario! We’ll all be wearing seat belts that night!!

It’s  been a thrill to get this project underway. There’s a website at www.marchingroundtable.com where you (and any friends or colleagues) can listen to and download the podcasts. We also have other resources available  at the website and plan to supplement those greatly in the near future.

We already have a huge number of supporters on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/MarchingRoundtable and appreciate all the kind and enthusiastic comments from listeners there.

And most exciting of all, John has just accomplished the amazing feat of having our podcast now available on iTunes! We’ve really made it, and I couldn’t be more excited. I hope you’ll check out the website changes and the podcast. Thanks for your support!