- [Narrator] Production of Applause on Ideastream Public Media is made possible by the John P. Murphy Foundation, the Kulas Foundation and by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.

(bright music) - [Announcer] Coming up, Canton's Bluecoats continue to redefine traditions of competitive drum core through creativity and innovation.

Plus a colorful muralist spray paints her way into the heart of Columbus.

And a musical transplant from Boston serenades the rooftops over a rainy day in Cleveland.

Welcome one and all to your weekly arts and culture retreat, Applause.

I'm Ideastream Public Media's, Kabir Bhatia.

These world-class performers are not your average drum corps.

With members from across the region and beyond, ages 16 to 21, the Bluecoats train at the University of Mount Union for an 8,000 mile national summer tour.

And it's not just about playing an instrument or marching perfectly in sync.

There's a whole lot more creativity when the Bluecoats take the field.

(upbeat music) - I can remember the experience I had as a drum corps performer and I know what it can do for a young person with regard to dedication, to excellence, and you can work really hard and try something that maybe you didn't think you could achieve before while also being expressive and showing your values.

- That type of work ethic that I learned from Drum Corps, it plays into everything I do, including my job, including relationships, organization, all that kind of stuff.

So I really think it's a broader impact than just the music.

It's all the skills you learn along the way.

- It's all kind of building to what makes this activity so great and what makes it so successful and competitive.

I just haven't wanted to go anywhere else.

It's always been the dream to end up here.

So I've been enjoying this ride for the last five years.

- It's always been my dream to be a Bluecoat so to finally be able to put on a uniform and just perform as a Bluecoat, it's gonna be amazing.

- The Bluecoats are a 50 year old drum and bugle corps that was founded in Canton Ohio by the Canton Police Boys Club and it was a afterschool outreach program.

Started as a parade corps, just an opportunity for kids in the Canton area to pick up an instrument or spin a rifle or a flag and perform in parades.

And gradually over the years, that became a show corps and then a competitive corps, and then a corps competing in DCI, which is Drum Corps International, just sort of like the major leagues of Drum corps.

50 years later it's one of the best drum chords in the world and it's 165 marching musicians and color guard performers.

In a drum and chord, traditionally that's brass instruments, marching percussion instruments, front ensemble like concert percussion instruments and the color guard which spins flags and rifles and sabers.

The makeup of that changes a little bit from organization to organization, but it's usually 80 brass performers, about 30 to 40 color guard performers and then the rest is the percussion section.

(drums playing) - I'm a battery coordinator here at the Bluecoats so basically I work with the drum line or the battery is another word for it.

If you've seen a drum line or a battery there are multiple drums that we use.

There's a snare drum, it's like a single drum.

We have the tenor drums which are multi drums on one harness and then we have bass drums which are more upright.

That is what comprises a battery.

I specialize in the tenor drums, so the guys that are, you know, playing around the drums like this doing different types of movements as they play, but also just coordinating the battery and making sure that we're playing together, that we're rehearsing the correct way and that we have a goal towards the end of the day where there's a certain section of the show that we need to clean up or play together.

That's really my job is to make sure that that on the back end is kind of you know, getting done as far as rehearsal efficiency.

- Just for the Bluecoats, it it always seems like the center snares are just like these these idols that you look up to for all these years.

So to kind of step into that role, it was a little bit daunting.

But I definitely feel a lot more comfortable in it this year and feel like I've kind of made it my own thing.

- I play the mellophone.

Yeah, so it's like the marching version of a french horn.

(mellophone playing) We do have our individual roles, we all have our like own drill numbers and everything but then at the end of the day, like we're all collaborating together to make a show all together and put this big piece of artwork I guess on the field.

- It's definitely one of the hallmarks of the Bluecoats especially, is that, you know, we're allowed to just be ourselves.

We don't have to worry about kind of fitting into this certain mold.

- I think the thing that we're known for and why a lot of young people are attracted to being in the Bluecoats is because we are really committed to being creative and trying new things creatively.

We've been called the Mad scientists of Drum Corps before, trying to find ways that it might surprise an audience, trying to find ways that are creatively interesting to us and to our performers and really giving the performers an opportunity to express their individuality in a way that maybe is ironic or opposing to the kind of the original ideas of drum corp where you know everyone's regimented and you have a hat on and you kind of lose yourself in the corp, so to speak.

And in a lot of ways we're trying to kind of flip down on its head a bit, while also, you know, speaking to the spirit of drum corps and what it is.

(audience claps) We have a creative team that's nine incredibly creative individuals.

You know, some are writing the music, some are designing the set, some are designing the drill, coming up with the overall concept.

But amongst that team, you know, there's Tony winners and Emmy winners and they spend a lot of time, you know, the entire off season cycle, writing music and coming up with creative ideas and finding source music from all different places.

And really it's all kind of just served the purpose of creating something that these kids are gonna love to perform and, you know, take it in front of hundreds of thousands of people every summer.

- These members are pouring their hearts out and working hard every day.

It's an emotional experience, right?

It's not just something that they do and you know, they're done and they don't feel anything.

When I get to help them achieve at the highest level and feel that music and feel the excellence that they're creating, regardless of how they place or medals or anything like that just that they feel good about what they're executing.

I get this real satisfaction from seeing them grow in that way and seeing them just be happy, you know, to be performers in a group like this.

- There's definitely some really hard days where I just wanted to give up, but it's just really, I think it's the community of people here and they would just like offer like a kind word or just tell me like, you got this, you can keep going.

So yeah, we just all push each other through the hard days.

- Certainly I think when young people are being creative they learn things about themselves and what interests them.

And all of those things wrapped up in, you know, one summer is a transformative experience for a kid.

Just one summer, let alone a couple and that means a lot to us.

- But by the end of season you really have an idea of how people receive your show and hopefully it's good.

In my experience, it's always been good.

So that's always been a comforting feeling coming into the last performance.

Obviously there's some nerves when it comes to the competitive aspect of it, but at the end of the day we do this for ourselves and for the people watching us.

And that's really the most important part for us is just knowing that no matter how we place that they're all gonna enjoy it just the same.

It's a really rewarding experience.

(audience claps) - [Announcer] The Bluecoats summer tour culminates at the Drum Corps, International World Championships, August 10th through 12th in Indianapolis.

(soft music) In Columbus, the clothes of artists, Sarah Hout, are covered in paint after years of decorating her hometown with colorful murals.

Let's go on location as she completes a couple of recent projects in the 614 and learn about her passion and process.

- I ended up going to art college after high school and had some roommates that had done some mural work, and I thought, I'm gonna give it a try.

And long story short, some doors opened for me to be able to do that.

(upbeat music) And I quickly realized like this is a really good space for me.

You know, not only am I able to create things that have big impact, I'm also able to build relationships with people and not just work in my basement in the dark by myself and be an island.

I really am built to be around people so it was a good fit.

Every project was different, you know, subject matter, you know, I'm working in kids libraries one day, a restaurant the next, somebody's home the next.

I mean, I love impacting a space.

I love creating a space that a lot of people can walk through and have it be a safe place for them, a place where they can breathe, take a deep breath.

The process that I generally go through is first of all, you know, having that conversation with the client, what are they trying to accomplish?

You know, I have to think about the functionality, I have to think about the demographic that's gonna view it.

I have to think about context, you know, all of these things.

I like to go into the space to feel it out.

I like to see who my neighbors are, what's around me, you know, and just to really process like an image that is going to not only be beautiful but functional as well.

So those are two important things for me.

Once we have decided on a design and I've, you know, created some images for them to approve then as far as putting it on the wall goes, there's several different ways to do that.

It depends on, you know, what kind of surface it is and how much room there is between the surface to do things like project or if you can't project then grid, or you know, do a squiggly grid or whatever they're called.

I just freehand it, you know, because sometimes I just have to freehand it.

And then, yeah, all different kinds of paint and the spray paint and latex paint and depends again on the surface and how much time I have and the look we're going for.

But kind of start to finish that's the big picture.

There was a lot of spray paint involved with the hilltop mural.

That mural was probably the first mural I've done that was pure spray paint and definitely the biggest mural that I've ever done with that amount of spray paint.

We ordered a little over 44 colors.

And each color there were like six cans so they're well over 200 cans of spray paint involved.

So with the free two be mural, it started off as something where I'm creating and people are walking by but they don't really see anything happening yet.

They just see this girl, you know, with this big piece of equipment.

Unfortunately there were a lot of cat calls, you know, but once the art started to go up all of a sudden people were engaging with the art.

They weren't paying attention to this random girl that they were, you know, curious or confused about, but they were like, wow like what is happening here?

And the art was just starting to like take center stage and you know, demand attention.

It was just fascinating because the way people responded to me, it wasn't about the cat calls or me or whatever but it was about like, wow, what a beautiful piece of art.

And all of a sudden there was just this like air of respect where there hadn't been previously.

All of a sudden I hear from behind me, Hey is this your work?

Are you painting this?

And I was like, well, yes, I am.

Like her jaw was dropped.

She's like looking at the mural, her jaws dropped, her daughter's eyes were huge and they're just staring at it, then looking at me and staring at the wall and they're like, this is amazing, I love it.

And the little girl was like, mommy can I have my picture taken with the artist?

You know, it was so precious.

I think, you know, it was like she saw someone that looked like her and that was like really important.

You know, we need to see people that look like us.

(soft music) The woman in the mural, her name is Francesca Miller.

She is an artist here in Columbus.

She's also a very good friend of mine and I've had the privilege of being to know her for about four years.

But one thing I love about Francesca is her resilience and the way that she just has determined to choose hope and choose joy, and choose, you know, all those things that we desire.

For me, public art is a big responsibility and I'm not trying to just create images that look cool, you know, or modern or whatever.

To me it's about, you know, what's the purpose of the space, really thinking about the context and creating images that are not coming from a place of anxiety or angst or, you know what I mean?

Just to like for the sake of coolness.

You know, for me, public art it's really important to create images that are gonna have some sort of positive effect on the people that are gonna encounter it.

When I get these opportunities, I'm just over the moon honored, you know, that I'm being trusted with something that has the potential to be hugely you know, inspiring, impactful, inspirational, all the I's, and to know that commuters are gonna see it every day or people in the clubhouse get to see it every day and it actually can influence like their mood and their day and their emotions.

Like it's just a huge honor.

My hope for the people that walk by would be that the mural would inspire them to keep moving forward.

That the mural would be a place of pause and like realignment.

Like, okay, this is actually who I am or what I can be.

Like, my circumstances don't define me.

You know, I'm so much more than that.

I hope that people will look at it and just feel some spark of hope to keep moving forward.

(soft music) - [Announcer] Wish you were here.

On the next Applause, postcards might not be as popular as they once were but they're still a big deal for the Western Reserve Postcard Society.

A few of its members took time to share their love of history and postcards, plus the golden age of shopping malls may be over but for some the nostalgia lives on.

And the Cleveland Orchestra performs a 20th century classic by a female French composer.

All this and more on the next round of Applause.

Ahmad Darouich is from Aleppo but fled to Ohio during serious civil war.

Today he lives in Cincinnati where he's found peace and the inspiration to become a painter.

(speaking foreign language) (speaking foreign language) (speaking foreign language) (soft music) (speaking foreign language) (soft music) (indistinct chatter) It is time to wrap things up for this edition of Applause.

I'm Ideastream Public Media's, Kabir Bhatia.

We leave you with a recent performance from the rooftops of Cleveland.

Jared Horgan is a Boston singer songwriter who made the move to northeast Ohio and quickly established himself on the local music scene.

As we say goodbye, here's Horgan singing his song "Suburbs."

♪ Heading on to the hometown it's a day off ♪ ♪ Cruise around on a bicycle ride down to the rock ♪ ♪ We'll get high like back when we were 15 ♪ ♪ I pray God the songs I write will pay off ♪ ♪ It's kissing the birds my friends away off ♪ ♪ Here's to the times when we all out in three ♪ ♪ Now I feel like my days are on the run ♪ ♪ Listen tonight someday we'll we figure it out ♪ ♪ We're so high it'll never come down ♪ ♪ Cause we're kids who wanna leave this town ♪ ♪ We're heading on to the time we need the day off ♪ ♪ It's all past mine a blink of an eye ♪ ♪ Roll the blunt now get in the fun now ♪ ♪ Everything's gonna be okay ♪ ♪ Everything that we dreamed is all the way ♪ ♪ We'll dance tonight someday we'll figure it out ♪ ♪ We're so high and we'll never come down ♪ ♪ Cause we're kids who wanna leave this town ♪ ♪ Sometimes gone away we'll always be the same ♪ ♪ We'll kiss just kiss ♪ ♪ Some time has gone away we'll always be the same ♪ ♪ We'll kiss ♪ ♪ We'll leave tonight someday we'll figure it out ♪ ♪ We'll leave tonight oh oh ♪ ♪ Someday we'll figure it out ♪ ♪ Oh we're so high and we'll never come down ♪ - [Narrator] Production of Applause on Ideastream Public Media is made possible by the John P. Murphy Foundation, the Kulas Foundation and by Cuyahoga County residents through Cuyahoga Arts and Culture.