This article was revised on March 11 to correct several errors. Thanks to Tommy Keenum for pointing these out.
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Since coming on to the winter guard scene in the early 80's, Tommy Keenum has conceived and created some of our activity's most innovative, entertaining, emotional, thought-provoking and sometimes even controversial productions. His resume includes such extraordinary guards as Odyssey, Final Analysis, Blue Devils, Forte, Chimeras, and Pride of Cincinnati, as well as numerous scholastic units, marching bands and drum corps. His remarkable ability to craft stunning visual effects while inspiring soul-stirring expressive qualities from his performers has culminated in some of WGI's most unforgettable moments.
Keenum recently spoke about his early days in the color guard activity, his favorite memories, and his hopes for the future, both for the winter guard activity and the hundreds if not thousands of people in it whose lives he has touched.
Where are you originally from?
I grew up in Booneville in north Mississippi.
How did you first become aware of color guard?
I lived in an area of the country where there wasn't much happening, guard-wise. I saw some early videotapes of drum corps and was just fascinated. I grew up with Nola Jones (a longtime color guard instructor and judge); her father was a band director and took us to a show in person.
What is your earliest recollection of winter guard?
In 1982 I went to WGI in Nashville. Shortly after that, I got a scholarship to University of Texas-Arlington as drum major of the marching band. Karl Lowe was also attending. Oddly enough, I sat in front of Karl and Wes Cartwright at that Nashville show. I met them at that WGI, and we had no idea we'd be going to the same college, and it turned out we'd all march together in Sky Ryders and work together on so many guards.
Tell me about how Odyssey began and your experiences with them:
We all seemed to share a common vision about everything. We really didn't know what we were doing, but we knew we wanted to do something cool and different. We started Odyssey as a small unit; Karl and I both marched and taught in '83. In '84 we were the A Class Silver Medalist and I was able to march that year because of the rule change. Finally, both Karl and I taught in 85 our first year in world class.
How did Final Analysis come into being?
In '86 I had graduated from UTA and had moved back to Mississippi, and of course I began to really miss guard. It was so hard to leave Odyssey as they were peaking, (they seemed to do fine without me). Final Analysis already existed, but had broken up, so I contacted all the people who marched before and got them interested in marching again. Final Analysis was really my first guard to do on my own.
The 1986 Final Analysis show was unlike anything anyone had seen before. It was so emotional, and bordered on performance art. Tell me about that group.
1986 was such a special year. Keith Hall and I were friends from band camps from way back and I got him involved. He's a great team member for me, he's the other side of the brain. He was a major part of that being great. We put that guard on our credit cards and paid for it for years! I was so emotionally attached and the performers fed off that. They loved the activity and felt like they might never have that opportunity again. It made such an emotional quality for their performance level. After that year it was so expensive we had to take a year off.
Tell me about the Final Analysis '88 season, "The Color Purple." It was such an unusual production, especially for its time. There were no weapons, and incorporated only one flag, that strange "branch" flag. Plus, nobody saw them the entire season, it seems. How did that work?
I was in school in another part of the state in north Mississippi, and we knew it would have to be a completely different situation from '86. It was going to have to be all about the very least amount of rehearsal we could do, how organized we could be, how well we could plan and teach the show, and still make it work. We decided to teach the show on six Saturdays, go to one regional and then WGI. That was it. Then we had each girl schedule a private lesson and we cleaned the girls separately! The Pensacola regional was the first show. Everyone thought we were crazy but it worked. All but three of those girls were new to winterguard and some had never been in colorguard at all. They were fun because the performers had no preconceived notion. We basically picked people who had great movement potential, and we taught them to spin something unusual because they had limited guard skills anyway!
Since then you've worked with numerous winter guards and drum corps. Any particular highlights?
Working with Crestview High School was a great experience. I drove seven hours to Florida every weekend to do that. J.C. Connor was their director and they had really great training, but never had a show that showed them off. They were the sweetest, most sincere kids you'd ever meet and hungry to perform. It was one of those things that turned out perfectly. I also enjoyed working with Blue Devils when they were moving from twirlers to winter guard. The Forte' kids were really into guard, but had maxed out their situation as best they could. I was able to bring something extra to them and we got to explore and try things I could've never done before. Their "Here's to Life" show was very reflective of who I was at the time. We got really close and it was therapy for everyone. Since then I've loved working with Chimeras ("Time to Say Goodbye") and Pride of Cincinnati (stand-up comedians). Putting together the Sky Ryders "Wizard of Oz" and "West Side Story" programs will always be my favorite Drum Corps experience. I also enjoyed my time with the Cadets of Bergen County.
What is your favorite aspect of the creative process?
Although recently this has changed somewhat, I usually plan the show in great detail before I present it to anyone. I can usually see the whole show in my mind. I like to act it out in front of them at the first meeting. That is always fun -- I can usually tell if it works or not, what needs to change, etc. My next favorite part is watching the performers take ownership of the show. Then I feel like I become a helper to get them to express themselves.
How do you get such emotional expression out of performers?
I think it's important that you not be emotional just for the sake of being emotional. It has to come from a real place. Even if the show isn't something very emotional; it might just be about music, and not heavy subject matter. You have to give the performers tools to connect themselves with what they're doing. From the beginning, I have them write a journal, have them bring things from their personal lives that make them feel a certain way. That way emotion is built into their process. We also really get to know the people we're teaching. Their emotions and mental state are so important to how they perform. When you share like that, you can relate that to the show and the show is really part of who you are.
Where would you like to see WGI in 15 years?
I think the good thing is that all the groups are getting better and better technically. What they do is really amazing. What I'd like to see happen, is that the technical proficiency stay, but I'd like WGI to encourage more creativity. I have been successful because I was creative. It is easy to say don't worry about scores and placement, but the performers want to feel successful. Most designers will not step outside the boundaries creatively if they are not going to be rewarded by the system. When I was starting out, having a unique perspective was given a lot of credit. I would like to see a more balanced rewarding of technical proficiency and individual creativity.
If you had one thing that any student of yours could take with them in their future lives outside of guard, what would it be?
My motto is "fear less, love more." That experience of putting yourself out there, performing in front of people, taking a risk when you might fail...you're investing your emotions, and stepping into that fear. It's a metaphor for life. We do things either (1) out of fear or (2) out of love, either for yourself, others, or the world. I wish for everyone to make decisions based on love. So many things in this world encourage us to be afraid and not come from our authentic selves. Winter guard encouraged me to be myself, and I can't think of a better gift to give.