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best pep band ever - anywhere

Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

Split-N said:
I think you're onto something here. One of the unique things in college sports is the bands but they've been getting marginalized ever since the marketeers came on the scene and started pushing the idea of the "game experience" which, to me, is mostly noise pollution. It's especially noticeable in the regionals and FF where the bands seem to have been banished to the rafters, limited in numbers, and left to compete with the house organist and sound booth.

Let college sports be college sports.
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EoDS has been saying this for years. Every single time...he is absolutely correct. In every way. Give me all the band you can and I will still ask for more. It is one of the best parts about college sports. I used to love regionals since it is an opportunity to see multiple bands in one arena. Great atmosphere!
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

I'm glad to see there are a few people calling out WI's band. Sure, they're decent and they usually have a pretty good guy on the drum set. But take that guy away and what's left? Not a whole lot.
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

Tempting to answer for best pep band EVER, something like, The Yale Band at that Princeton game in 1983.

Seriously, it's about impossible to judge. Most bands don't travel much, and those that do, do so poorly -- either because they are limited in size or playing in an unfamiliar space. And how many of us have really traveled around the various arenas to get a good sense of things beyond their own alma mater?

Also, things change from year to year, sometimes quite a bit.
I saw 3 of the bands at the Frozen Four (I didn't see the the 2nd semi, so if St. Cloud sent a band I missed it), and was disappointed to see them relegated to the rafters. By far the best of those two evenings was after the finals were over, when the Yale Band came downstairs and played in the aisles.
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

Split-N said:
I think you're onto something here. One of the unique things in college sports is the bands but they've been getting marginalized ever since the marketeers came on the scene and started pushing the idea of the "game experience" which, to me, is mostly noise pollution. It's especially noticeable in the regionals and FF where the bands seem to have been banished to the rafters, limited in numbers, and left to compete with the house organist and sound booth.

Let college sports be college sports.
Click to expand...

It's hard to fit the band into the lower bowl at a regional with open seats being so hard to come by...........:rolleyes:
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

cross cheque said:
It's hard to fit the band into the lower bowl at a regional with open seats being so hard to come by...........:rolleyes:
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Can't speak for the other regionals, but there were no bands at the Western regional this year.
I would have loved to see them in the rafters, it would have been thunder from the mountains.
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

WisconsinWildcard said:
EoDS has been saying this for years. Every single time...he is absolutely correct. In every way. Give me all the band you can and I will still ask for more. It is one of the best parts about college sports. I used to love regionals since it is an opportunity to see multiple bands in one arena. Great atmosphere!
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Heck, in fall, I'll sit out on my patio on some evenings, simply because I can hear the local high school band play at games (the school is a couple blocks away).
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

No love for the Lowell band? (Pass the doobie dude.)
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

The group that QU sent out for the F4 owned the other three. Mostly because they played Brass Bonanza.
 
LtPowers said:
Consider this, about RIT:

No music majors. No marching band. No football games.

Yet the RIT pep band is so good that opposing teams actively prohibit them from coming to play.


Powers &8^]
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I was a member of the MTU pep band; AFAIK, there is still no music major offered, and as a four-year HS marching vet, I hope 'march' is still a dirty word. :D

We do have a football program though. Halftime shows consist of the infamous blob formation, and semi-themed music.

While I enjoyed it, and would assert being among best of the Midwest, I acknowledge there are a couple of similar bands with bigger balls. The Stanford band and their infamous 'Irish Potato Famine' show vs. ND comes to mind. Also, Columbia at Fordham about 10 years ago, where the Columbia band leader joked that tuition at Fordham was "going down like an altar boy".
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

Bomber said:
No love for the Lowell band? (Pass the doobie dude.)
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1) They're not a pep band, they're more of a jazz ensemble
2) They don't know how to stop playing once play starts
3) They play the same **** jazz songs over and over again
4) Stop playing Birdland, for the love of all things holy.
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

FadeToBlack&Gold said:
I was a member of the MTU pep band; AFAIK, there is still no music major offered, and as a four-year HS marching vet, I hope 'march' is still a dirty word. :D

We do have a football program though. Halftime shows consist of the infamous blob formation, and semi-themed music.

While I enjoyed it, and would assert being among best of the Midwest, I acknowledge there are a couple of similar bands with bigger balls. The Stanford band and their infamous 'Irish Potato Famine' show vs. ND comes to mind. Also, Columbia at Fordham about 10 years ago, where the Columbia band leader joked that tuition at Fordham was "going down like an altar boy".
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RPI also has a football program. No music majors. America's Pep Band doesn't march; they amble.
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

Music evidently has charms to please even the most hard-headed college hockey fanatic. As an unintended but welcome consequence of increased TV coverage and subsequent advertising, time-outs will provide time for musical entertainment at the rinks. This time could be filled by electronic recordings, but hopefully the colleges and the rink promoters will recognize the benefits of live college bands.
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

Osorojo said:
Music evidently has charms to please even the most hard-headed college hockey fanatic. As an unintended but welcome consequence of increased TV coverage and subsequent advertising, time-outs will provide time for musical entertainment at the rinks. This time could be filled by electronic recordings, but hopefully the colleges and the rink promoters will recognize the benefits of live college bands.
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I know you keep pushing the TV angle, but your viewers will not be experiencing the music, and instead being told how to use HeadOn. Any argument about the amount of music bands play at arenas are ENTIRELY dependent upon the ambiance policies set by the owner of the building.
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

FlagDUDE08 said:
I know you keep pushing the TV angle, but your viewers will not be experiencing the music, and instead being told how to use HeadOn. Any argument about the amount of music bands play at arenas are ENTIRELY dependent upon the ambiance policies set by the owner of the building.
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Hence "at the rinks," "hopefully, and "rink promoters" - don't let preconceptions blind you.
 
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Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

better way to do this, you cant name your own teams band.

it would be fun to have a band playoff or competition. maybe secret judges attending games. eastern teams judge western teams and western teams judge eastern teams.
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

FlagDUDE08 said:
You are still missing our point regarding bands. We're less concerned with how much, and more with if.
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"our point?" "our?" "we?" My apologies to the emperor.

Seriously, successful (well attended) sporting events are nearly as much about atmosphere and tradition as they are about the game. This is not true regarding the denizens of this site, but past tournaments (and games) shows all too regularly there simply aren't enough diehard hockey fans to fill stadiums. LIVE college bands, traditional chants and cheers, bizarre clothing, even dead sea creatures create an overall experience which attracts more fans.
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

Had to be the MTU Band/Pep Band f the late 60's - 70's. Played every Beer theme song out there!
 
Re: best pep band ever - anywhere

My favorite band is MTU without a doubt. It hurts to say it, but Minnesota is a close second. Wisconsin used to be really good but at the FF, it felt like they relied too heavily on their drummer.
 
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