Brit Reacts to Drum Corps | Definitely Not Bluecoats 2014 'Tilt'

[@brandontaylor3252]

Talk about coming full circle. Blast is in the direct lineage of Star of Indiana who won the DCI championship in 91'. They left DCI after their incredible 93' show and founded Blast.

[@RappMike]

Many of the people who designed Blast are now the designers at Bluecoats.

[@Stonkzy]

Would love to see him react to both the ‘91 and 93’ show

[@Stonkzy]

Would love to see him react to both the ‘91 and 93’ show

[@KyleNally]

To continue the thought, what Star did in 1993 left an indelible mark on DCI in terms of show design that's still with us today.

[@dko27]

2014 was one of the greatest DCI years as a spectator. Funny enough, you mention that the Bluecoats must’ve been mad that they lost to the Blue Devils, but they were actually scoring in 3rd for most of that season (behind Blue Devils and Cadets). After finishing 3rd in the semis, they got 2nd in the finals and it was absolutely insane with everyone yelling “let’s go bloooo” in the stadium. Unreal time to be alive.

[@dko27]

Excellent reaction Charlie, and you’re absolutely right - this show would have won in many other years.

[@TriopsTrilobite]

This is why I always raise an eyebrow whenever people say coats should’ve won 2014, because they barely snuck into 2nd over the cadets lol

[@brichpmr]

@@TriopsTrilobite As I recall, Finals night was the only show where Coats scored above Cadets.

[@TriopsTrilobite]

@@brichpmr Exactly, BC managed to earn second at the last show, but they certainly weren’t going to jump BD with that. I say this as a fan of BC during that era. Funnily enough, I got the same revisionist vibes this year from people saying Phantom should’ve been over BD. As if BD wasn’t in contention for second with Boston all season, meanwhile Phantom was fighting Crown for fourth

[@marcusintravaia4802]

This is the only show I know of where the crowd was cheering so loud that it was hard to hear the actual show on the recording. That finale was and always will be bonkers.

[@KevinGamin]

Bluecoats: Pitch bend Audience: VOLUME BEND Just hearing that roar grow over the sound of the corps gives me life.

[@sleeve.3995]

awesome! been waiting for this one. if we get blue devils 2017 and bluecoats 2016 my life will finally be complete

[@zakk7522]

Yesssss give me Metamorph.

[@jeffgray7922]

I have a request out for him to react to 2016 Bluecoats, so that should happen....sometime.

[@MrLambo234]

Nothing like a 16 contra line man. And many people forget they had a 14 year old march that season 🤯🤯🤯

[@scottburka8885]

you're 100% about seeing this first in the 50th anniversary show-- for most fans they saw THIS show first and then the 50th anniversary was the throwback to 2014 -- it was an absolute blast to play, the highlight of my summer was working those big awesome chords with 425 of my bluecoats brothers and sisters

[@jackthecommenter2768]

425?

[@scottburka8885]

@@jackthecommenter2768 yep . Have you seen the 2022 bluecoats alumni performance? 😎

[@jackthecommenter2768]

@@scottburka8885 wow

[@as_sv9788]

the visual designer and drill writer for this show also designed for Blast! The Carolina Crown brass staff were also in the creative team for blast. Some performed there as well. Blast was the product of the Star of Indiana drum and bugle corps after they left dci where nearly all of the staff and performers in Blast marched or taught. Star was only around for 9 seasons (1985-1993), but in that short time received 2 bronze, 1 silver, and a gold medal as well as many caption awards making finals every year of the corps existence. I strongly urge you to catch those shows. especially 1990 (3rd place), 1991 (1st place), and 1993 (2nd place).

[@tkvids1377]

Dude this is why we love you!! No one else catches all the "Tilt" motifs so early, or even at all! :)

[@pghskin]

Another amazing analysis! Up through 2015, the Bluecoats had an iconic uniform look which included a helmet and flat-laying white plume. Then in 2016, they shocked DCI with stretch suits and no headwear. And since 2016, the majority of corps have ditched the head piece, following the Bluecoats' lead. You'll notice that in this show, even the cummerbunds are TILTed, which was new. The ballad, which has become another standard piece for the corps is The Hymn of Acxiom by Vienna Teng. It's an amazing piece, and you should listen to the original.

[@plainwelltoad]

Lol, I truly wish we could see his face as he reacted to the lyrics of the song! Such beauty...and terror! Lol!

[@delfordchaffin5617]

I've said it before and I'll say it again... Best DCI reactor on KZbin! 😊 And you are correct... the famous pitch bend we re-created in the 50th Anniversary Alumni Corps show. Minus the getting down on the knees bit because most of us weren't 19 anymore. 😂 Funny story though... an update to our drill app got posted that indicated "horn line down on one knee" and this caused quite a stir before it was thought better of. 😂 In the end, we just did the leaning parts during the pitch bend standing up. The most fun part for me though... I obviously had the music, so it didn't occur to me how well the pitch bend was hidden in the show. But if you don't know, it's not at all obvious that it's going to happen. We're jamming along to a tune from the 2018 show when all of a sudden we hold this long chord that goes right into the pitch bend. The audience might have assumed it could show up at some point, but had no idea when. They were savvy though and it was about 0.1 seconds into the actual pitch bend that half the stadium lost their minds. 😁 It's so fun to watch some of the videos from the crowd's perspective and see how much fun they had. 😊 The ballad in this show - Hymn of Acxiom by Vienna Teng is a beautiful tune. The original version by her is well worth a listen and reaction in its own right. 😊💙🍁

[@JAlexandrian]

I’ve heard the pitch bends at the end of the show are a recording of the hornline playing and then run through the synth to bend (tilt) it.

[@KevinGamin]

And they had to re record the pitch bend effect mid season because of how much the horns has improved over that time.

[@probably_drew]

I've been looking forward to this one! One of my favorite small details from the show (that is super easy to miss) is the bass drummer that does a tilted plank on top of his drum on the far right side from 12:31 to about 12:37. I honestly didn't notice it until a friend pointed it out! I've been really enjoying your reactions to these shows, Charlie, and I really hope that you've enjoyed these as much as we've enjoyed watching you go down the DCI rabbithole haha. I can't wait for you to be able to experience it live next year. Although it definitely sucks you weren't able to make it to finals this year, I think watching the 2025 finals live is just going to hit different having over a year's worth of DCI knowledge under your belt. Just make sure to plan out your hotel and everything super early as Indy gets crazy busy during finals as you might expect haha.

[@MinkyBoodle44]

So some additional context behind the hype for this show: The Bluecoats had actually been in third for nearly the entire season behind the Cadets. Everyone freaking loved this show (myself included), and while the Cadets’ show was super well performed, most people loved this show far more. Through all of the final few weeks of the competitive season, Bluecoats had been creeping up on Cadets until finally, on finals night, they passed them up to take second place. If you ever watch the award ceremony for 2014, you’ll hear the entire crowd explode when Cadets get announced in third (in hindsight, I feel kind of bad for them; they did a darn good job, and didn’t get a whole lot of appreciation for it despite unpopular show design). The crowd was basically willing this show to jump ahead through the power of applause all season, and it finally happened. Bluecoats had been a good corps up to this point, but THIS was the show that really put them on the map as true innovators in the activity. They’d gotten third place in 2010, and that was the only other time they’ve ever medal’d. Their 2011, 2012, and 2013 shows had a bit of a lackluster reception, so for them to come out the gate with a show like this was just a perfect underdog story. At the time, that pitch bend at the end was absolutely unheard of; I can’t overstate how much that blew people’s minds that year. From 2014 out, they have basically been contenders ever since, and I blame this show for turning them into an elite corps.

[@cteets12]

never clicked a video faster

[@paulplaysstuff6696]

So real 😭I'm so happy he watched it

[@meredithlanterman554]

I loved this reaction! Couldn’t wait for you to watch this one. The show was so incredibly complex musically! I had goosebumps the entire time! Wish I could see the choreography too, but the music is enough really! Peace and love from Colorado☮️❤️

[@Malletdude31]

So before this, Bluecoats were kind of mid-level, hovering around 5th-8th place with one 3rd place in 2010. This show, they hung in 3rd or 4th most of the season before FINALLY at finals, they were able to snag 2nd place. As a side note, you're a big vocal guy. The ballad movement is "Hymn of Axciom" by Vienna Tang, which is beautiful, and if you can find a video of her doing it live and explaining the story behind the song, it adds so many layers to it and makes it truly 10x more beautiful.

[@scottburka8885]

One of the things that makes this show so special is that it was the Bluecoats first time to ever get second place breaking into the top tier of the sport- that’s partially why it is held in such high regard among its fans

[@zacharylum3820]

2015 bluecoats kinetic noise is one of my favorite shows of all time. Def gotta react to that one

[@connormckay4755]

6:54 Everybody's instruments are able to play with multiple types of sounds from soft to loud, smooth to harsh, and dark to bright. Everyone here has excellent control of their dynamics and tone to be able to create different timbres from their single instrument. Although there can be a little bit of both of what you're asking about. While the players have this control, composers can also write for less players to be playing and then when big hits happen, they have everyone join with loud dynamics to make it sound as big as possible

[@connormckay4755]

7:28 Didn't get to you saying "or both" before I wrote all that haha

[@greatmcnate9506]

In an activity filled with emotional epic ballads, this ballad WINS!

[@aubreyricher9827]

this is also one of those shows where the camera man understood the assignment. first time my dad and I heard the ending we were just like.......*mind blown* we need some requests for 2011 shows, i stand by that was my overall favorite year for shows

[@leveragability]

Hello~~ 2014 Bluecoats Alum here! Some fun facts! This was the first time Bloo had ever gotten second! I get emotional every time I see the score announcements bc the love from the crowd was CRAZY! Also, I saw someone else mention it, but we held our horns at a 45 degree angle whenever we are at set and we did it the entire season. I think it was, like, day 2 or 3 when the visual and brass staffs got together and decided we were doing it for the whole season, all day every day. When learning drill, etc., we just used the field as usual, Jonny V just wrote everything at the same angle as the big orange tarp border. I don't know the exact angle, but that's what he did! Also, we were not pissed at BD xD we were just so driven and excited to be in the top 3 for the season! If you watch the full retreat for this year, you can see us all celebrating our different achievements with each other! The Pitch Bend (the synth tilt) at the end was a recording of us that they then did their crazy magic on with us interjecting like you had pointed out. Anyway thanks for watching more Blooooo!!!

[@nocluewhatimdoing4543]

Roughly @4:50 I didn't march this show, so I don't know for sure. However, I would assume that they ARE using the yard lines, hashes, numbers, etc. as references. Most likely, the drill itself was designed to fit within the artificially "tilt"ed field and the orange border is there to create a clear border for the audience/judges.

[@LoungeSometimes]

At 15:47 the guy yelling "SIX WORDS" is one of my friends :)

[@VDarling0701]

Your face at the last bit of the show -the best 😊 Spectacular! Spectacular! AGAIN !!!!!

[@veggcar497]

The first ever show that I saw, I was never the same afterwords

[@R.Instro]

A lot of folks hadn't ever heard of Vienna Teng before this show, I was so happy to hear her work in the ballad.

[@wtwrush]

The yawn during the snare split was such incredible timing. Thank you for this video! The questions you're asking are absolutely incredible.

[@burntmacaroni8989]

Dude finally 😭

[@steinblitz1506]

An ALL TIME fan favorite! Thank you once again sir 😊 2015 is another INCREDIBLY unique technical show with a dope theme as well. Somewhat similar to tilt but a little more etherial.

[@ciansquires6694]

I don't think there has been a better day ever in the history of the world. TWO TOP TEIR VIDS IN ONE DAY LETS GOOOOO

[@6sidi]

was so excited to watch this

[@Zhiperser]

Thanks for finally doing this one. I recommended you check it out on the anniversary video as well.

[@jameshigginbothamiii8703]

This performance in DCI is one of my favorites.

[@KevComm]

*You know how long I’ve been waiting for this…..* So glad it finally happened, great reaction as always

[@dbrnhrt]

A decade later, I still get chills

[@andwil98]

THIS SHOW was the fan favorite of the first year I went to Indy to watch finals. From then on, I was hooked on D.C.I. and got involved in the activity when I marched SCV 2017❤

[@NATcha94]

I had the INCREDIBLE honor of teaching at a humble high school that hosted Bluecoats that year. We got to see them rehearse this show and NOTHING can describe the feeling of hearing that “THX AUDIO” closer. The audio recordings never do it justice. It truly was the most memorable aural experience I would ever have in my lifetime. Absolutely BONKERS. Can’t watch this show without crying.

[@williamsanborn9195]

I just wonder what Charlie’s reaction would be to the opener of the Crossmen’s show from 2012. Holy bananas, what an opener it was!

[@tonyschulting2674]

The ballad is "Hymn of Axiom". The original piece is equally beautiful and disturbing.

[@Bubba10211Gaming]

Still get chills to this day watching that ending.

[@greatmcnate9506]

Blast! And you haven't reacted to the corp that started Blast!? That was Star of Indiana. Star 1990, 91 (their championship year), 92, and 93 are all fantastic shows. The first iteration of Blast! was made up mostly (maybe entirley, not sure) of Star age-outs after they disbanded.

[@TheCharlieSmithChannel]

They're actually next on the list, funnily enough 😉

[@hunterward9137]

@@TheCharlieSmithChannel Some other ones you should definitely watch is Blue Devils 2017, and Bluecoats 2016. A personal request is Crossmen 2012, at least the first opening hit.

[@organboi]

Is Star of Indiana that insanely shocking corps that played Bartok and Barber nonstop for 12 minutes? The last show before they folded? Unbelievable and unprecedented performance.

[@5musicman]

2014 was truly a spectacular year but 2023 was on another level. Every Corp in 2023 had the most epic of shows

[@5hark906]

Small little fun fact, but they held their horns at a tilted angle instead of straight up. Usually when a horn player isnt playing on field, when they move, their horn is at what is called "set". Their Normally the horn is held with both hand and bell pointing to the floor and mouth piece straight up. This show had the horns' set positions tilted to the left so their mouthpieces were pointed up and left.

[@juicymango8400]

I’d say Bluecoats is the KING of innovation in DCI becuase of shows like this and downside up. The tilted field was so cool after I figured it out after a couple rewatches. Their use of pitch synthesizers is so simple yet effective, and that’s exactly why the crowd went so wild at the end.

[@juicymango8400]

Also their ballad is prolly my favorite of all time MAYBE tied with crown 2012

[@TinVan.]

Our Artistic Director at Bluecoats, Jon Vanderkolff is actually one of the creative minds behind BLAST!

[@VDarling0701]

Thank you Aiden for the request 🩵🩵

[@benovermire3372]

2014 was a beast of a year for DCI. Nearly every corps has a memorable show from this year.

[@ianunderburger7004]

THANK YOU!!!

[@athahryd]

YASHHHH FINALLY 2014 REACTION!!!!

[@nickmueller7310]

Yessss!! I've been waiting for this one

[@hannal7901]

I love Hymn of Acxiom! Beautiful ballad. Would've loved to hear this in person. As a marching band member, it's not necessarily hard to learn your spot w/ everything on a tilt because we get our dots/coordinates on the field. It might be a bit harder to make the lines straight as you learn it, but after rep-ing it many times, you get it down. disclaimer: I was not part of DCI, just a high school marching band and this is based on my experience. Also loved that jump off the triangle at the end!

[@jameshigginbothamiii8703]

It's a combination of each section having the "lead"...the darker sounding flugelhorns, and baritones, then the trumpets join in, with, the dynamics of levels of sound produced...soft, medium soft, loud, louder, loudest.

[@trumpetguy13]

The “muted” sound is from them turning around and playing facing backfield. Hymn of Axciom is one of the best ballads of all time tbh.

[@jeffe_77]

Fantastic show!!

[@andyv2209]

yesss im hype for this. i saw this at the eastern classic and it was epicccc

[@markduhe9102]

If you want a good year...2002 was my favorite year in DCI...The Cavaliers won with their show Frameworks, but just behind them were 2 incredible performances from Blue Devils and Cadets...you should do a Hattrick show of those 3 groups because you won't be disappointed! Love the content! Keep it comin!

[@croatiancowboy]

FINALLY. IT'S TIME FOR TILT!

[@CharlieGroh]

I dunno, been around since before DCI and am still involved teaching pageantry...seen and experienced a whole BUNCH of shows, many of 'em spectacular. This one takes the prize for me. AFA the "sheets" (the score sheets that the judging community uses) well, BD's staff is just SO hip to where the points will come from they are *always* in contention and just plain win at an incredible percentage. So, no surprise that BD won this competition, but just for gut effect alone 'Coats show is f*ckin' awesome. The pitch bend is a monumental, iconic, moment.

[@JuanJimenez-od1ho]

Charlie, my friend who I play disc golf with, was rhe Tuba section leader for BCoats that year. He’s a great dude. And he got to march a historic DCI show.

[@bdfan4ever]

New Charlie videos and I’m at work!!!! I can’t wait for some sushi and my headset after!!

[@Zyluki]

now that youve done bluecoats and blue devils 2014, you GOTTA do crown personally my favorite DCI show of all time

[@drchuck9]

Their ballad “Hymn of Acxiom” is hauntingly beautiful and the lyrics are equally disturbing. I know you react to choral music as well, so please check out Coastal Sound’s Youth Choir performance of this song!!!

[@plainwelltoad]

YES! As much as I've listened to Vienna Teng sing her song, I've probably listened to that choir's video as many times!! Amazing performance, haunting with their cell phones in the darkness. He could do a whole video just on that lol!!

[@edwardmurray9595]

For the muted vs brighter comment, I think you're referring to darker (muted) tone. For trumpets (sops) it's jaw placement and the quality of instrument including mouth piece. Thanks for coming to my Ted talk

[@garyrowlatt1932]

Blast 😮🙏Was thst at the Apollo theatre ? I saw it so many times there. Fantastic times

[@CaptainKylan]

I think one of the most beautiful things about this activity is that, once the winners are announced, NOBODY is upset. So often, members march in many different groups and meet up with their friends in other corps on finals night to congratulate each other. After this season in particular, members of the Bluecoats and Blue Devils were hugging each other after the awards ceremony for their accomplishments, Blue Devils for scoring the record breaking score and Bluecoats for achieving their highest placement to date. Every corps is supportive of everyone else, because the DNA of this activity is harmony through shared discipline. While the Blue Devils absolutely knocked it out of the park with their impeccable execution of difficult music and drill, this show is definitely the more influential of the two. The trends of current year drum corps can be traced back to this groundbreaking performance, with its eclectic choice of music, and its innovative use of electronics. Honestly, this year is the perfect landmark to transition between the 2000s-2010s era and the current trends we see today. And that whole shift was propelled by the Blue Devils putting out the most perfected version of the previous decade, and the Bluecoats giving us a taste of the next. And, while it's difficult to tell exactly what the future will hold, it certainly feels like the Bluecoats did something similar with this year's show, Change is Everything, ten years later. It's poetic.

[@samsignorelli]

"once the winners are announced, NOBODY is upset." Trust me 40 years ago that was definitely NOT the case....we (BD) were pissed, but the scores were in. I congratulated Garfield as they trooped past me after their victory run...hardest thing I ever had to do at the time.

[@wordsmithpiko1784]

Prior to this show the last time we looked at the Bluecoats and thought "Those guys are going places" was when they got a bronze medal in 2010. And when you compare that show to this show, and for that matter every show between 2010 and 2013 to 2014 onwards, something changed and it's amazing. Blue Devils may have gotten first and broke the Cavaliers' and Cadets' long standing record, but the Bluecoats were the real stars that night in Indy. I suppose to give a nod to your "2014 is going hard" comment, one other show I would check out is Boston Crusaders of that year "Animal Farm". It definitely captures the vibe of the novella very well, but with a little extra context, the show has a huge double meaning.

[@Taanstafl12]

Man still has Cadets 2011 ahead of him :p

[@Flipperwi715]

Still one of my fav ballads.

[@dangoldman4277]

The pitch bend was recorded by the brass and sampled. The members were not annoyed that Blue Devils won at all, as that was a special show as well. However, this year served noticed they were coming. The drill writer wrote for Star of Indiana 1993 also. You will see similarities in the visual presentation despite the contrast in the show. That developed into Blast!

[@markalusss]

I feel like since we’re entering spooky season The Cavaliers 2014 show Immortal would be a really good one for you to watch. Underrated.

[@plainwelltoad]

Wow do I love this show! Music is so amazing. I've seen it a hundred times and you still picked up on things I hadn't yet! If you get a minute, search up the ballad Hymn of Axiom, by Vienna Teng. One of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. But the trick is in its lyrics--that's the "tilt" of the song: its this lovely choral piece ... about data mining and targeted advertising. It's just the best. Seriously, take 5 minutes of your spare time and listen to her sing it. Or at least look up the lyrics--chilling. Anyway, so glad you got a chance to enjoy this show. One of my all-time favs!

[@Nick_Hutchens]

YES MY FAVORITE SHOW!!!!

[@drummersnare6276]

One of the best shows of all time.

[@VDarling0701]

Yay! So happy you’re doing Tilt ! I can’t wait for you to see Cadets Angels and Demons Love your videos It’s HS marching band competition season in the states !!!

[@benhuffman4404]

That section from 9:04 - 9:42 is absolutely sublime.

[@rspeck]

The drum judge's tape for this show is online. You should do a reaction to that.

[@gabrielfaure9091]

Blast!.... Now that's a fun one.

[@TinVan.]

Yesss! Finally!

[@nickfenech307]

You gotta react to Phantom Regiment 2008. To me it’s a show that is a masterclass in Story Telling. Pulls you in before they even start playing

[@organboi]

As is Boston 2018 "SOS." Another exceptional story told tremendously well.

[@kbrichmo8547]

Dont be afraid to pause and talk about what you see! I watch to hear your thoughts on what you are seeing and hearing! If i want to just watch the show I can do that any other time!

[@wsperger7387]

You yawned right through the cool snare split lol

[@TheCharlieSmithChannel]

My bad. Contrary to popular belief, I can't control when I yawn 😂

[@wsperger7387]

@TheCharlieSmithChannel lol. I saw you replayed it lol. Awesome content as always. You are one of my favorite content reaction, you pick up alot of things that I don't, I'm a drummer so I pick up alot of drumline stuff. Hopefully you get to a dci show next year in the states and I run into you

[@wsperger7387]

So much better in person

[@samsignorelli]

"This is a winning show." In any other year, it would've been.

[@ParkerVick-bv7jg]

You should totally watch Boston Crusaders: Animal Farm

[@joshsalmons1867]

In a normal year, this show would've won. The blue devils were on crack this year. This is my favorite ballad ever.

[@alimasswi8475]

the same guy who helped create and design blast designed this show! jon vanderkolf the goat

[@void8422]

This is my boyfriend’s favorite show! He Farley new to dci like you aswell ! But literally I just left his apartment and then walked right back in bc I saw u posted this reaction LOLL we def need u to react to blue devils 2014 and in ur opinion who should have won ( nvm lolll he just posted BD😭)

[@chadtarver3301]

This was the highest Bluecoats had scored ever in their history as a Corp. Any other year this would have won.

[@justinboykin6706]

YES!!!!!

[@NEOSAP]

I’ve never clicked so fast!

[@michaelgwfrogwelge]

Charlie, in 2014, almost all of the elements of today's shows were already present except replacing the uniforms with outfits more atuned to the show action. Bluecoats with this show, put most of those elements together, and would get around to the unis two years later.

[@brichpmr]

In 2014, it was clear for weeks leading up to Finals in Indy that BD was going to win. They were superior in every way that year. The gut punch was to the Cadets who were no lower than 2nd until the very last night. Props to Bluecoats for an iconic performance and great design! That said, check out the Cadets show to see how their design failed them, even though their quality of execution was second only to BD. 2014 was a great year for DCI.

[@deeleebee13]

some of the muted sections are your orientation on the field are you playing toward the pressbox side or the back side of the field and paying attention to the dynamics as written in the music

[@jeffe_77]

Blast are all DCI alums, staff, and designers.

[@chrisrodriguez629]

Finally 🎉

[@zacharyliles8657]

Shoutout to the ABSOLUTELY RIPPING BASS DRUMS at 9:43 laying it down for the screamers!!

[@supersop]

I think you were trying to hit on tone quality. There are ways to darken and brighten the tone as a brass player (especially at higher volumes) ... but the trick that you're looking for is suspended cymbal rolls at the height of impacts and sustains. It definitely adds sizzle to the overall tone.

[@jameshigginbothamiii8703]

You were correct, they lost to the Blue Devils that year. The score was: 1. Blue Devils - 99.650 (highest score ever) and 2. Blue Coats - 97.175

[@stevenwest4338]

all right Charlie I’m back and I see a bunch of people have already touched on Number one the fact that has a said in the blue Devils reaction people are always pissed off at the blue Devils😂😂😂😂 I absolutely fell out of my chair however when you talked about going to see Blast… what I am sure you did not know until I see a bunch of people have already let you know here, Blast is actually the spin off from wait for it STAR OF INDIANAk!!! you will see when you react to Star of Indiana that they pushed the envelope every year of their short nine years of existence. you will also notice that they just look rich on the field and I mean that both stylistically and monetarily. Star of Indiana was founded in 1984 by the CEO of Cook Group Inc. which was a medical research facility out of Bloomington Indiana. Bloomington is the home of Indiana University which is my alma mater so we can’t pass that little fact up😅😅 Star of Indiana came out there first year and made finals and a lot of people of course went straight to hating on them due to the fact that they had brand new buses brand new semi brand new instruments, new costumes every year ( which is the norm today but it definitely was not in the 90s). A lot of people referred to them as the country club corp. While they did have nice things, it was there extremely hard work combined with their extremely talented staff and incredible show year after year that allowed them to break into the top three and 1990 which I will be sending you that show and then winning their first and only championship in 1991 just seven years after their creation. They’re 1993 show entitled the music of Bartok and Barber was extremely complex and pushed the drum corp community to look at what is now considered a groundbreaking show. It’s very cerebral and it’s done so well that it takes a couple times to watch before you realize how difficult what they pulled off was on a football field. Long story short, they lost in finals to the cadets which is still one of the most talked about finals in history of DCI. this is because people either love love love that star of indiana show or they never understood it. this brings me back to blast which was created by the star Indiana in 1994 as they decided to leave the competitive field and create a new art form on stage. I am friends with a lot of people that you saw in that London show and I marched with most of them. I love this bluecoats show but I had to spend my time reacting to this huge coincidence I just love what you’re doing here and welcome to the community with open arms and I want to be sitting with you next year at finals🥃👍🌈