For Blue Stars’ transportation director Mike Andrews, volunteering for the La Crosse, Wisconsin corps has given him a newfound perspective on contributing to drum corps.
“My being back with the Blue Stars was really my way of paying back the people who did it for me when I marched and paying it forward for the future generations of the Blue Stars,” Andrews said. “As you’re doing it, you might not see the full impact, but it’s quite an honor, and I’m very proud to be with the Blue Stars.”
Andrews is far from a stranger to the drum corps activity. He joined the Blue Stars in 1969 as a member of the battery percussion section, and “aged out” in 1972 at the first-ever DCI World Championship in Whitewater, Wisconsin. Andrews remained around the corps until 1975 before taking some time off.
Eventually, Andrews returned to the Blue Stars in 2015 — this time as a volunteer. The return came after he was in contact with other corps alumni who he marched with, and one of them, who was on the corps’ board of directors, invited him back to see the current iteration of the group.
“I reached out to him, and he said, ‘Hey, why don’t you come up to La Crosse for a weekend and engage with the corps again when we’re building out our equipment trailer.’” Andrews said. “That’s what brought me up there, just to see if I really wanted to get back into it. Once I got back in La Crosse, it was an automatic buy-in.”
After driving for the corps in 2015, Andrews took on the Blue Stars’ transportation director role in 2016. In his new role, Andrews continued to be a driver through 2019 and then in 2021 when the drum corps activity returned to action following the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, he has mostly stepped away from being on the road and has focused on the role’s administrative aspects instead.
“I primarily do Department of Transportation compliance for all our drivers — that all our driver files, insurance, everything is up to date — and that we’re currently under no violations,” he said. “I take care of finding our drivers. We also do the equipment maintenance, tractor rental, and then all the driver coordination while on the road on tour.”
Andrews’ extensive near-year-round responsibilities start back up just three weeks after the DCI Summer Tour ends in August. The process is just part of what goes into getting prepared for another successful season.
“It’s critical, obviously, to get this show on the road, but the skill and the professionalism of the drivers is critical to make sure everything comes into place,” he said.
So, what keeps Andrews inclined to assist the Blue Stars year in and year out? The motivation is pretty simple — seeing, and contributing to, the joy the members get out of their summer experience.
“That’s what we’re all here to do,” Andrews said. “We’re the back crew roadies; we’re the behind-the-stage kind of people. It’s all to support their performance and the joy that they get out of putting on the show for the fans.”
Andrews encourages more people across the country to volunteer for drum corps, citing how the process of helping the production come together is what makes the experience so worthwhile.
“It’s a unique opportunity with this type of activity and just so much interaction with great people on staff, the corps administration and the members,” he said. “It’s amazing to see what these young people can do and to be part of it and able to make that happen; you get a lot of satisfaction out of that.”
Andrews, along with two other DCI Volunteers of the Year, will be recognized at the DCI World Championship Semifinals on August 8 in Indianapolis.
