Kyle Tsuchiya
THEN: Bluecoats, 2015-17
NOW: Minnesota Vikings Drum Line
When you ask Kyle Tsuchiya what he’s doing with his life, his initial answer, in a way, is simple.
“I’m doing a lot.”
And then he goes on to explain the full rundown. It’s not simple at all.
Tsuchiya, a former member of the Bluecoats’ snare line from 2015-2017, has plenty on his plate in terms of his “life after drum corps,” both inside and outside of the music world.
Okay, a sizable portion of it is musically-inclined, but Tsuchiya spends the majority of his time as a brand strategist for a Minneapolis marketing agency ICF, where he first started as an intern in 2018 after graduating from the University of Minnesota.
Tsuchiya refers to his job as “both an art and a science,” much like his experience in drum corps — percussion specifically. That’s not where the connections stop.
“I pretty much attribute all of the soft skills that I possess, just in life, to my involvement in music in general, but drum corps especially, and especially my time with Bluecoats,” he said. “I learned a lot about myself, not only as a musician but as a person.”
“I’m still drumming.”
Tsuchiya performed with the marching band at the University of Minnesota for four years as he pursued his undergraduate degree. Through that experience, as well as four seasons with Minnesota Brass Indoor Percussion, he became ingrained in the area’s marching percussion scene, which he described as a tight-knit community.
For Tsuchiya — also an avid sports fan — college marching band became the perfect outlet. So with that and his many connections, his next opportunity in performing arts was a “natural progression,” as he put it.
Prior to the 2018 NFL season, Tsucihya auditioned for and joined the Minnesota Vikings “Skol Line,” a professional drum line that performs at all Minnesota Vikings home games.
Taking part in the Skol Line over the past two seasons has been a great performance outlet, and it hasn’t necessarily been a huge time commitment either; Tsuchiya said, outside of game days, the group rehearses just once a week.
“It’s been a really cool experience, we try to treat it — because it is — like it’s a professional drum line. We’re being paid to be there, so it’s important that we have our stuff together. But it’s really fun, not that huge of a time commitment.”
Okay, but let’s back track for a second. He didn’t just audition for the Skol Line. For his second go-around, he auditioned in a hot dog suit.
For context:
Tsuchiya mentioned that Skol Line auditions aren’t just about drumming. There’s supposed to be some showmanship and entertainment value, as the judging panel consists of more than just musically-inclined people.
But for most auditionees, this usually means they’ll play along with an exciting music track, or something of that nature.
Not Kyle Tsuchiya. His definition of “showmanship” was to dress up in a hot dog suit and equate his audition to a Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest. And all of this played out on a public stage in the middle of the Mall of America.
It worked.
“I tried to exercise some of my video chops to make something cool and different and make myself stand out,” he said. “I really didn’t have to go that far and put that much effort and energy into it, as much as I did.”
“I have a weird brain.”
You could call it weird; you could also call it creative.
Tsuchiya’s creative mind has arguably been the thing that’s helped him give back to the marching arts community.
By way of his largely self-taught video skills, he’s been able to develop a vlog-style YouTube channel with more than 8,000 subscribers, the main goal of which is to make his experiences in marching percussion appear attainable and encouraging other musicians to take their next steps in the activity.
“When I was in high school, I remember looking up to these guys and girls that were in these drum corps that I wanted to be a part of,” he said. “Thinking they were so cool and kind of idolizing them in that sense.”
“When I started to march Bluecoats and I started to see that I was kind of becoming that person for kids, I wanted to be accessible to those who are interested in seeing what being in a drum line is like — what life on tour is like, kind of show them that I was one of them and I still am one of them, and any successes I have are definitely attainable for anybody.”
As the channel has grown — many of the videos get as many as 20,000 or even 30,000 views — it’s allowed Tsuchiya to connect with musicians who are just like he was on the earlier end of his career in drum corps and marching percussion.
“It’s been really rewarding for me, because I just try to be myself on those platforms,” he said. “And to have kids tell me they really look up to me or they’re really inspired, or they want to continue on in this activity at least in part because of what I put out there, that’s really cool for me and that’s what keeps me going and makes me want to do it more.”
Then again, Tsuchiya did mention how important the opportunities he’s had presented to him in marching music have been for his growth in all areas.
Why not pass that along?
“My time in drum corps and just the marching activity in general has been incredibly great for me,” he said. “So, I definitely want to pay it forward and at least try to help give some kids the same experience as I had.”
