by Steve Vickers, Drum Corps World PublisherThis interview was originally published in the October 2009 edition of Drum Corps World (Volume 38, Number 7), published on September 16. To subscribe, go to www.drumcorpsworld.com.Jim Mason and I go back 34 years. We first met in Denver, CO, during the fall of 1975. He and two friends were in town and I was invited to join them for dinner by my friend Alex Saloutos, a member of the Madison Scouts. Jim had just spent his age-out season with the Madison corps and they were excited about the big DCI title won at Franklin Field in Philadelphia on August 16.The following year, at the second DCI Championships in the city where our country was celebrating its bicentennial, he asked me to help him with a new project as he became director of the Colt 45s in Dubuque, IA. But his drum corps background goes back to 1961 in his hometown of Cedar Rapids, IA. He was not only a member of the Cedar Rapids Cadets, he was arranging some of their music at the age of 12!The announcement that he has been named the artistic director and operations consultant for the Madison Scouts is the culmination of a lifetime of achievements that go beyond his years in the drum and bugle corps activity. His last direct involvement was as the founding director of Star of Indiana, the nine-year phenomenon (1985-1993) that won a DCI title in 1991 and then moved on to other pursuits following the 1993 season.During the ensuing 16 years, he produced a series of summer “Brass Theater” shows with The Canadian Brass and eventually had the cast performing in the resort town of Branson, MO. That show evolved into “BLAST!” debuting at the Apollo Hammersmith Theater in London during December 1999 and subsequent runs on Broadway in New York City and half a dozen national tours since. This year marks the tenth anniversary and it’s still going strong, especially in Japan where it just completed another six-week schedule of performances to consistent sell-out audiences.Now he’s ready to return to the drum and bugle corps activity in a very substantial way. We’ve spoken quite a few times over the last few months about this possibility -- in fact we've talked about his reconnecting with the Madison corps for the past seven years -- and his excitement level is quite high. In fact, I haven’t seen him this excited about the activity in all the time since Star completed their 1993 season. So I asked him to chat about details that have not been part of the official series o announcements from the Madison Scouts during late August and early September.* * * * * * * * * *Steve Vickers: Let’s start with your reaction to the new chapter in your life. I know you’ve wanted to have some involvement with the Scouts for quite some time. A variety of circumstances prevented that from happening until now. Tell me what this new position means to you.Jim Mason: I’m at a point in life where my children have grown and I have some extra time on my hands. Recently, my youngest son, Grant, became a Recon Marine. Watching him go through that process (he and his platoon are being featured on a Discovery Channel show called “The World’s Hardest Jobs” sometime during the next few months) and seeing him grow up before my eyes humbled me in a way that I can’t explain. It also made me take a personal inventory of myself. I realized it was time for me to invest in young people again and give back to an organization that did so much for me, both personally and professionally.SV: What level of time commitment are you making to this effort for 2010 and is this just a one-year project?JM: I don’t think about it as a time commitment. If I did, I’d probably run for the hills. I’d like to think of it as a whatever-it-takes-to get-the-job-done-well commitment. I realize Madison is in need of some TLC and it can’t be done in one season.SV: What are your goals for the Scouts?JM: I know people are going to have high expectations about the incoming staff. I want to make it clear that what I want to do the first year is to lay a strong technical foundation under the corps and re-establish its brand. Then once that base is in place, start building on it, as it’s going to be built brick by brick.I guess I sound like a true mason, but I realize it’s not a quick fix. This is a fifteenth-place drum corps.  We have to unravel what got them there and reteach the group to be an upper-tier, World Class corps. We might not have all the pieces I want in place for the first year, but in time, I hope to get it there, taking it one day and one person at a time.SV: Can you share names of some of the people you have lined up to make this journey with you?JM: Donnie Van Doren, Jim Prime, Jon Vanderkolff, Jim Moore and Jeff Lee. This design team is the foundation for this rebuilding process. From there we will add the best technicians available -- Bob Medworth, Dr. Nick Williams, Brad Green, Rosie Miller Queen, Bryan Sutton . . . as they are the cornerstones.The members are the bricks and the alumni make up the roof over our head. Man, I think I took this metaphor too far! But the idea is, it is going to take all of us to rebuild the Madison Scouts.SV: I know the season you spent with the Scouts in 1975 means a great deal to you. Can you outline how you came to be a member and some of the details about what came out of it?JM: I met Gail Royer when he and the Santa Clara Vanguard made their first trip to the Midwest in 1968. There were a couple of members having problems –- one was sick and the other’s mom had passed away while he was out on tour. My father asked Gail if the boys wanted to stay at our house until things settled down and Gail said great, under one condition . . . that he stays also.As the corps performed in Iowa each night, they all would come back to the house and stay. I remember sitting at the kitchen counter listening to Gail and my father talk. Right then and there I knew I wanted to make a career out of drum corps.I stayed in touch with Mr. Royer and when I was approaching my age-out year, I wrote him a letter requesting to join his corps. He wrote back and said that I had a spot in the corps, but I had to make camps and move to Santa Clara as soon as I got out of school. Due to my financial situation, making camps was not a possibility.I kept that letter and still have it today. Gail meant a lot to me.So I decided to march in the Kilties. I had a friend at my university who asked me if I could drop him off at Scout camp in Madison on the way to Racine and I said sure. Needless to say, I heard the horn line that night and I never made it to Racine.I can’t begin to tell you how that decision put into motion my lifelong dream. I was fortunate to have Mr. Elvord, the Madison horn guru, as my instructor and life teacher. He made a lasting impression on me, along with others in the corps.Even in 1975, I could tell Scott Stewart was going to play a major part in the future of this drum corps. He really cared about each person and his love for the corps was unquestionable.Because of these two gentlemen, excellence and core values were etched into the corps and remain with me to this day. When I decided to accept this current position, they were the first two people I contacted to let them know that I wanted to preserve and continue the legacy that they established with this group.I also want to mention Jim and Jean Seefeldt. When I first moved to Madison, I was living in a pup tent down by Lake Monona, near downtown. I didn’t have the means to rent an apartment, but I really wanted to be in the Scouts. So I camped out, bathed in the lake right across the street from where some of the guys and I -- referred to as the “swat squad” -- would rehearse during the day at Olbricht Park.Mr. Seefeldt, then a backer of the corps, heard about me through some of the members and invited me over for dinner one night. I got to his house and was met by his wife who was busy gardening. She informed me that Jim was running late and would be home soon. So I just pitched in with Jean and started gardening.When Jim got home, Jean announced to the two of us that I was going to live with them for the summer, no ifs, ands or buts. Jim said that was his plan all along and that is why he was late coming home, so Jean could get to know me. They had arranged for three other Scouts already to stay with them, but I was the first person to move into the Seefeldt home.During the next 28 years, they hosted more than 50 Madison Scouts! To this day, Mr. Seefeldt still refers to me as his number-one son.SV: Who else in the activity inspired you?JM: There are really so many people. John Nash gave me the chance to arrange for my corps when I was 12, and certainly Bill Cook.Did I say Bill Cook? There are not enough words in the English language to cover the things that I have been taught by him. We have experienced so much together on our life’s journey. Every moment that I have with Bill is cherished, whether it is standing on stage at Radio City Music Hall accepting the Tony Award or going out to lunch with him when I’m in Bloomington.SV: What have you learned from the “Brass Theater,” “BLAST!,” “Shockwave,” “Cyberjam” and “Mix” experiences that you will bring to the activity through the Madison corps?JM: This question is an interesting one. You know, as we start to program the show, it’s just nice to know that we have a whole bag of tricks to pull from.SV: Your title, artistic director and operations consultant, indicates the field show won’t be your only task as you shape this new direction for the corps. What kinds of things will you be doing beyond putting the musical and visual show together with your caption heads and technicians?JM: I’ll be working with the management of the corps to continually strive to improve the organization. In this day and age, everyone involved in a drum corps has to be concerned about funding because it is the lifeblood of the group -- budgeting, getting down the road, feeding the group, scheduling, rehearsal facilities and making sure we leave no stone unturned in laying a foundation for the future of the corps.SV: This news will no doubt have a positive impact on the support of thousands of alumni who represent the 73-year history of the organization. What do you think might happen now that this new course has been charted?JM: The Madison Scouts are a name brand product, one that was built by the sweat of the alumni. I want to honor the tradition of the corps while leading the group into the future. The team that is being selected is highly sensitive to our history and will do their best to continue to develop the corps.SV: Any other aspects of your plan you can talk about at this early point in the process?JM: Right now I’m concentrating on recruiting and staffing. I’m calling every member who marched in this year’s corps who has eligibility, going over with them what’s in store for the future and inviting them to auditions. To me, they are the greatest resource we have and deserve to know what is going on. We owe them at least that as an organization.Secondly, I’m excited about visually pushing the envelope of the group forward while putting into focus the wall of sound that was famous with the Scouts for so many years.I also want to mention anyone interested in finding out about auditions, schedules, etc. -- please go to www.madisonscouts.org.SV: Thanks for providing specifics on this interesting venture. I’d like to follow-up with another interview, perhaps in the spring, about how things are progressing.