The 8 to 5 Club

We sit down with two members of the marching arts community as they share how compounding failures in leadership, both organizationally and by fellow members, have pushed them away from the activity. In the second interview, we hear about a toxic high school program and divisive drum corps team dynamics, For our directors, staff, and young leaders, we call for empathy-based leadership as a foundat...

We sit down with two members of the marching arts community as they share how compounding failures in leadership, both organizationally and by fellow members, have pushed them away from the activity. In this first interview, we hear how specific organizational and staff-related issues contribute to concerns over safety and wellbeing, and what happens when support systems are not present.

The 8 to 5 Club welcomes Dr. Chip Crotts, brass caption head of the Blue Devils Drum & Bugle Corps, to Lunch with a Legendary Leader! An alumnus of the Phantom Regiment and the Blue Devils, Chip has previous served as a staff member for Spirit of Atlanta, Phantom Regiment, Cavaliers, and the Santa Clara Vanguard. His resume as a performer is equally impressive, and he is currently Director of Jazz...

Freshley-minted World Champion Tony Gamez, drum major of the Bluecoats, joins us for this week’s LLL! He shares his journey from high school marching band straight to the Bluecoats, first in the hornline and then to the podium. Tony reflects on the corps culture that made 2024 unique and how he approached his leadership role throughout the season. Finally, he gives his advice for DCI auditionees....

This week, we share your responses to your first homework assignment. Find out what you have in common with your fellow listeners and hear Jared’s answers to the self-reflection questions. Thanks for your submissions, and stay tuned for your next task! → The 8 to 5 Club podcast is made possible by Silent Command. Visit silentcommand.org for lessons, clinics, and videos.

Today we bring to you the first installment of our new interview series, Lunch with a Legendary Leader! Jared and Corey welcome Carl Huang, former drum major of the Santa Clara Vanguard (‘17-‘18, Phantom Regiment ‘16, Vanguard Cadets ‘11-‘15). Whether you know him from the early days of Silent Command, his legendary Babylon head cam, or have had your life saved by his EMT skills, Carl has certainl...

Following up on last week’s episode about leadership application and interview prep, Corey assigns your homework for this week to get you thinking. We designed a set of 10 questions that allow you to address where you are now and what improvements you would like to make going forward. *Share your own reflection answers here!* https://gforms.app/r/nxprKi2 → The 8 to 5 Club podcast is made possible...

NOW is the time to start preparing for audition season, especially for those aspiring to step into leadership roles. We reflect on our own drum major interviews and audition process and give insight into how we approach screening and selecting students leaders from the perspective of educators. We share common interview questions and guide you through the interview itself, from body language and c...

Welcome to Season 4! The 8 to 5 Club is back from another summer filled with lots, and lots, and lots of band. We reflect on our recent growing pains as evolving educators. Jared dishes about his career shift into the corporate world and readjusting his mindset as a teacher as he faces new surprises with his home programs. Still on his endless bassoon grind, Corey reflects on his initial hesitatio...

We check in with some of our Silent Command leaders as they tour the country with their corps this season. Hear from Peyton Brillhart, Megan Conlan, Miguel Flores-Padilla, Wes Booker, and Jake Spinogatti about their peaks, valleys, and what’s keeping them going on the DCI 2024 Tour.

For this week's episode, Corey welcomes sport psychologist Dr. Adam Gallenberg to talk about mental approaches to leading and performing. We talk about how to manage the "all eyes on me" pressure that drum majors and leaders experience, mental approaches to mistakes and recovery, overcoming mental blocks and "hitting the wall" during the season, and much more. → Find Dr. Ga...

This week we welcome a powerful group of DCI drum majors and leaders to discuss navigating leadership and the marching arts as women. We address core issues like representation, lack of support, bias in the audition process, and offer our action steps to create inclusive teams and educational environments. With Dina Bratanovic, Peyton Brillhart, Megan Conlan, Sophia Fenske, Hannah Hawryluk, Jayden...

Corey's book pick for this month is Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning -- the ability to learn and teach effectively is an essential skill for musicians, leaders, and teachers alike. Jared pulls a quote from Habitudes that addresses change within an organization. → The 8 to 5 Club podcast is made possible by Silent Command. Visit silentcommand.org for lessons, clinics, and video...

Jared and Corey are back to continue this season’s conversation about servant leadership, inspired by Jared’s recent experience at a drum major clinic. We discuss how the values that we preach to young leaders has changed in recent years, and why a shift towards teaching critical thinking and independence may be the best way forward. → The 8 to 5 Club podcast is made possible by Silent Command. Vi...

This episode, Corey takes you on a walkthrough behind-the-scenes of a drum corps on tour. How do DCI drum majors help make it happen? We talk in detail about the travel and housing site logistics that drum majors and leaders are responsible for -- from shower temperature testing, housing site cartography, and of course, taking out the trash! → The 8 to 5 Club podcast is made possible by Silent Com...

Welcome to the first installment of our new monthly series, The 8 to 5 Leadership Library! Every month, we share our favorite leadership books, videos, and podcasts — and you share your favorites with us. For the month of April, we’re talking about Conscious Leadership and “Why good leaders make us feel safe.” Let us know what you think about our April picks by sending us a message on our social m...

Today’s episode of the 8 to 5 Club Podcast tackles time management and band/life balance. As people who had to work around difficult school and job situations in order to march drum corps, Jared and I give our practical advice for balancing individual practice, score study, and team meeting time with our off-season obligations. Finally, we discuss what to do when “real-life” responsibilities pop u...

This episode, the 8 to 5 Club welcomes Matthew Iida from Drum Corps Link to talk all about packing for drum corps. We share our veteran tips about commonly-forgotten items, sleeping gear, toiletries, bus bungee setups, rehearsal bag essentials, & more to help with your pursuit of EPL efficiency on the road. We also list additional things that are helpful for section leaders and drum majors to...

DM Score Study 101!! Corey welcomes Blue Stars drum major Mattie Kleespies to the podcast to demystify the two words that strike fear into the hearts of some and delights others. We go step-by-step through our own process from start to finish, how we like to annotate scores and organize our count sheets, our strategies for memorization, and much more. → Follow Mattie @mattie.kleespies (IG) → The 8...

Reporting live from the annual Silent Command staff retreat, Jared and Corey sit down * roundtable-style * with Dajia Simmons, Tyler Autin, Dina Bratanovic, Wes Booker, Jaden Overbeck, Sharbel Skaff, and Matthew Iida. With this diverse group of leaders, drum majors, DCI staff, and band directors, we each weigh in on the ongoing conversation about servant leadership. We highlight a more flexible, s...

For our season finale, we welcome back Boston Crusaders drum major and 8 to 5 Club veteran Wes Booker! Corey and Wes talk about some pros and cons of different drum major team structures. Inspired by Wes' experience in a healthy co-head DM team, we look closer into a people-first approach to delegation and leadership. Finally, we analyze how physically splitting up the front podiums has change...

In this day and age, the servant leader ideology that has been spread across the activity is proving to be toxic to student leaders and organizational culture. Alongside music educator and former Troopers drum major Dajia Simmons, Jared reflects on leadership horror stories that exposed how "servant leaders" are taken advantage of. We present alternative leadership approaches and preach...

All you've wanted to know about being a rehearsal assistant! This role is much, much more than just a met runner, and our guests Tyler Autin (Blue Devils '22) and Marelyn Castro (Boston Crusaders '22, '23) make that clear. They share their journeys from the initial last-minute calls to join their corps, to staying organized and efficient with count sheets and DB-90 presets, and the...

This week, Jared interviews Troopers horn sergeant Jake Spinagotti and former Madison Scouts horn sergeant Ethan Hacker to learn all about brass leadership. Ethan shares his advice on dealing with disagreements between leadership while on the road and how educators can best help their student leaders. Jake talks about being a link between members and staff and how his mindset shifted through the s...

Corey and Jared welcome Pacific Crest drum major Justine Nava to highlight the differences between open class and world class corps, and how her move from BDB to PC significantly changed her drum major responsibilities. Breaking away from a tradition of rigidity and stoicism, Justine reflects on what makes her drum major team welcoming and joyful. Finally, "Goddess" fanboys Corey and Jar...