The Mekanics

Bio: The Mekanics are a DCI Open Class drum and bugle corps out of Columbus, Ohio. The corps was started by a group of former Open Class members who had aged out and wanted to build something from scratch — no inherited identity, no legacy to work around or live up to.

The name came from a late-night argument about whether music is something you feel or something you engineer. They landed on both, and the corps has pretty much operated from that premise ever since.

Programming pulls from wherever the concept takes it. Modern composers from well outside the drum corps tradition, Romantic-era works, original music, licensed repertoire that raises eyebrows — genre and prestige aren't the criteria. If it serves the show, it's on the table. If it doesn't, it isn't.

The electronics caption is treated as a full compositional voice, not atmosphere. The sound the corps has landed on is dense and modern, and it doesn't soften its edges for anyone. The visual work leans geometric, and shows tend to commit hard to either narrative or abstraction — the corps hasn't shown much interest in the space between.

There's no standing uniform. Costumes are designed for each production specifically, built around the concept of that year's show rather than a house look.

The ensemble runs across brass, battery, pit, and color guard. The brass writing is demanding from bar one. The battery doesn't run a cymbal line — a deliberate choice that shapes how the whole corps sounds. The front ensemble is built to handle whatever the design staff asks of it, which is usually a lot.

Rehearsals are what members call "the shop floor." The staff doesn't hand-hold — the expectation from auditions onward is that you showed up ready to work. It's a culture the corps has been consistent about since the beginning.