ADDRESS BLAST! - The Shot Heart Around the World Stuart E. Rice Serice@juno.com William A. Cook, an Indiana medical equipment manufacturer with no experience in music or marching, has accomplished in sixteen years what the world's best show bands, marching bands, and drum and bugle corps organizations could only dream of. A commercially marketable product. Complete creative liberty. Complete PBS support. A worldwide audience unrivalled since 8 million viewed the Drum Corps International World Championship Finals in 1976 (only a third of that figure was expected in 2000). In short, Bill Cook created the first professional, internationally recognized marching art. Critics are praising the eclectic entertainment in the same breath with "Cirque du Soleil," "Riverdance," "STOMP," "Tap Dogs," and the Disney "Fantasia" experiment. Some consider Blast as the new state of the art. Most are enthusiastic. Virtually all Blast supporters seem at a loss for words to explain its success. It happens so rarely that the marching arts can scarcely come to grips with it - standards have just been raised to a new level of excellence. It seems the only individuals who do know what to say are the Disney executives who recently told FutureCorps (4/25/00), Walt Disney World Marching Band (5/7/00), and the Magic Kingdom Fife and Drum Corps (March, 2000): 'You're fired.' Consolation reportedly offered by one manager was "You ran longer than Cats." It was an execution curiously juxtaposed with the ascension of Blast. Jeff DeMello, President of the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, found the presence of mind to express his sadness over the decision to Disney. Carli A. D'Agostino from Executive Offices at Walt Disney World Resort offered this explanation for the sacking of FutureCorps: "Futurecorps was a wonderful form of entertainment that has been a part of our World' for many years ...." He assured Jeff that FutureCorps members would have the opportunity to audition for "other musical groups" at Disney World. Suddenly the Disney-sponsored Drum Corps International World Championships of 1996-1998 seem long ago. Blast is a unique animal in the entertainment world. It is complex. Most interdisciplinary performing media are a simple formula of 1+1=2. You have a primary art, and a secondary art: Drama + Music = Musical Theater Music + Drama = Opera Photography + Drama = Motion Pictures Dance + Music = Tap Dance Poetry + Music = Vocal Music It is common for auxiliary medium (art, costume, dance, etc.) to be thrown into the mix with these media. However, the primary and secondary art carry the interdisciplinary performing medium. This applies even when the primary and secondary media get a little more specialized: (2-dimensional) Dance + Instrumental Music = Drum and Bugle Corps Instrumental Music + (2-dimensional) Dance = Marching Band Show bands are a type of pageantry encompassing music, marching, dance, twirling, theatrics, and other convenient aural and visual gimmicks. However, this is where our comparison begins to break down. Though Blast resourcefully pursues eclectic media and repertoire, the subtlety and sophisticated treatment of many of its media strain the credulity of those who would construe Blast as "popular entertainment." Among those media critics recognized were 'banners, dancing, gymnastics, marching, sabres, singing, streamers, and twirling.' Because music is the near constant and driving medium, this equation could be simplified to "Music + Everything = Blast." For our purposes, Blast is part of the marching arts community because it services marching and it's accompanying arts. A colorful show of loosely unified tableaux, Blast can be placed within the subcategory of "pageantry" (though one critic preferred "spectacle"). The concept of Blast could be broken down into the primary components of band, guard, and percussion, insofar as the space provided for performance favors any one of these elements more than the entire complement of cramped spatial options. This serious challenge to the identity of Blast which may only be resolved if (1) all three elements are smaller and/or more interactive, (2) the stage is enlarged, and/or (3) a larger facility is found (or built to specification). The architectural and realty implications within the third possibility, though drastic. However, they are also a hallmark of more established arts organizations which enjoy a level of patronage capable of supporting facilities built to their specific needs. Should Blast aspire to this pinnacle of influence, new considerations enter the picture such as standardization, education, and proliferation of the medium. While it may be said that the show band has come of age in Blast, one critic preferred "uncharted territory." Indeed, never before has such a collection of marginal media been successful presented as more than a sideshow to a larger attraction. In spite of all of this, Blast has penetrated the body politic of the elite arts with one caveat: its primary element (music) is heavily dependent on compositions for other genre. Why? Though composers may be intrigued by the new and unconventional, they are also mindful of their personal interest in making enduring contributions. While Blasts longevity remains to be seen, its production was no accident. It was anticipated long ago, according to a 1995 interview with Curt Wise, Public Relations Director for Cook, Inc.: "Brass Theater is going to evolve in the years ahead. It will involve, I believe, more than one day appearances. Ultimately, we would like to see Brass Theater move into something like a play, that will come into a community, stay for a period of time (whatever that period of time may be - a week, ten days, fourteen days ...), and then stay for a series of performances." Will it stay for a series of generations? This is a question perhaps only time can answer, for time vindicates the art. What the future holds for Blast is largely a question to be answered by Bill Cook. His concern for the marching arts and his keen observation has made him a quick study in producing excellence, innovation, and success. Cook surrounds himself and his performers with individuals who resonate that commitment. He is as capable as producer as the marching arts has ever enjoyed. The question remains, "what does Bill Cook aim for now?" Evidently, Bill is not one to rest on his laurels. "I believe that if one goal is reached, there should be another goal waiting," said Cook (hence, his dissatisfaction with the zero-sum game of DCI, where the success of a championship is at best repetitive). Cooks believes "The path to a goal is not always clear and instead of Ready, aim, fire!,' it may be better to Ready, fire, aim!' I believe," says Cook, "that a human should be prepared (ready) to act, then act (fire), and finally analyze what was done (aim). Instinct exists in all of us but so often we fear the unknown to the extent that we are incapable of action." But Cook is a man of premeditated action, and it would appear that the success of Star, Brass Theater, and Blast were a well-executed example of "ready, aim, fire," resulting in the resounding impact of "Blast." Where others have fired and missed, Cook has indeed hit the mark of an explosive conventional revolution, and it will be felt far and wide. Bill's bold venture outside of drum corps since 1994 has left only one real future on the horizon. I'd like to suggest that next and final major step in the evolution of the "Bill Cook Project" is that of an enduring institution for the marching arts. Our most promising future lies in an institution which can embrace and promote through time and space what he has given. This is by far our most difficult step, but a worthy challenge and fitting culmination to Bill Cook's remarkable career in the marching arts.