Lunch with Legends: A Conversation with Tom Blair

Last week, Bluecoats had its first Lunch with Legends event. This new series invites drum corps legends to join the Bluecoats at rehearsal and to speak to performers during a lunch presentation.  The first speaker was DCI Hall of Famer and longtime DCI Broadcast/Cinecast Producer Tom Blair. Tom Blair has an extensive history in drum corps, beginning when he marched Glassmen in 1976 and including producing almost all of the DCI World Championship broadcasts since 1987. 

Bluecoats Program Coordinator Dean Westman moderated the conversation and began by asking a question: “How many of you were inspired to be a part of drum corps because you watched drum corps growing up?” Every hand in the room went up. 

Tom discussed how filming DCI performances has evolved the way drum corps members perform during shows, pointing to the infamous wink in the Bluecoats 2016 show, Down Side Up, as a game changer. When asked about how marching in drum corps impacts his current work, Tom stated that the pursuit of excellence drum corps taught him has helped him to find success in different aspects of his life. He emphasized the need for more people who know drum corps to be the ones producing drum corps broadcasts.