Famous Maroon Band

[615dawg]

1. As always, the patriotic show is the highlight of the Famous Maroon Band season. Thank you for doing this. It was spectacular as always.

2. Other than that, our band SUCKS. They are by far the worst in the SEC.

Case in point:

They cannot be heard when playing in the stands
They can barely be heard when they are on the field.

Some may say that louder is not always better. I agree, but a 300-piece band should be louder than a 40-piece band. I was in the West side chairbacks and heard Alabama's band more than ours.

The reason for this is three fold.

1. We are not as brass-heavy as some bands are (per my band friend)
2. At any given time, half the band is not playing. They are either trying to find their music or they just don't care.
3. At any given game, a good number of members ran't there. (you can see the holes in the formation, especially on the pre-game)

If I am giving someone a scholarship (all band members receive a scholarship), they'd better damn well be at every performance. Obviously this isn't the case, and apparantly our band isn't smart enough to make manual adjustments (in the MSU spellout, the U looked like back to back Ls because several people were missing.

I am no band expert, but I have a feeling that if most people on this board were told to line up in a straight line on a field in which lines were painted, we could do so.

This is supposed to be perfectly straight lines, per my band friend sitting with me.

I am told that the problem is the current director is clueless and has needed to be replaced for years. Little things like she was told that the university logo would be changed in 2009-10 and to wait a year to order new uniforms (10-year uniforms), yet went ahead and ordered them, and of course, the band continues to suck.

I'd love to hear from band members. Why can't we hear you and we can hear other team's pep bands? Why are the basketball bands fine compared to the rest of the SEC but the marching band is a joke? Why aren't these lines straight?

 

[615dawg]

1. As always, the patriotic show is the highlight of the Famous Maroon Band season. Thank you for doing this. It was spectacular as always.

2. Other than that, our band SUCKS. They are by far the worst in the SEC.

Case in point:

They cannot be heard when playing in the stands
They can barely be heard when they are on the field.

Some may say that louder is not always better. I agree, but a 300-piece band should be louder than a 40-piece band. I was in the West side chairbacks and heard Alabama's band more than ours.

The reason for this is three fold.

1. We are not as brass-heavy as some bands are (per my band friend)
2. At any given time, half the band is not playing. They are either trying to find their music or they just don't care.
3. At any given game, a good number of members ran't there. (you can see the holes in the formation, especially on the pre-game)

If I am giving someone a scholarship (all band members receive a scholarship), they'd better damn well be at every performance. Obviously this isn't the case, and apparantly our band isn't smart enough to make manual adjustments (in the MSU spellout, the U looked like back to back Ls because several people were missing.

I am no band expert, but I have a feeling that if most people on this board were told to line up in a straight line on a field in which lines were painted, we could do so.

This is supposed to be perfectly straight lines, per my band friend sitting with me.

I am told that the problem is the current director is clueless and has needed to be replaced for years. Little things like she was told that the university logo would be changed in 2009-10 and to wait a year to order new uniforms (10-year uniforms), yet went ahead and ordered them, and of course, the band continues to suck.

I'd love to hear from band members. Why can't we hear you and we can hear other team's pep bands? Why are the basketball bands fine compared to the rest of the SEC but the marching band is a joke? Why aren't these lines straight?

 

[615dawg]

1. As always, the patriotic show is the highlight of the Famous Maroon Band season. Thank you for doing this. It was spectacular as always.

2. Other than that, our band SUCKS. They are by far the worst in the SEC.

Case in point:

They cannot be heard when playing in the stands
They can barely be heard when they are on the field.

Some may say that louder is not always better. I agree, but a 300-piece band should be louder than a 40-piece band. I was in the West side chairbacks and heard Alabama's band more than ours.

The reason for this is three fold.

1. We are not as brass-heavy as some bands are (per my band friend)
2. At any given time, half the band is not playing. They are either trying to find their music or they just don't care.
3. At any given game, a good number of members ran't there. (you can see the holes in the formation, especially on the pre-game)

If I am giving someone a scholarship (all band members receive a scholarship), they'd better damn well be at every performance. Obviously this isn't the case, and apparantly our band isn't smart enough to make manual adjustments (in the MSU spellout, the U looked like back to back Ls because several people were missing.

I am no band expert, but I have a feeling that if most people on this board were told to line up in a straight line on a field in which lines were painted, we could do so.

This is supposed to be perfectly straight lines, per my band friend sitting with me.

I am told that the problem is the current director is clueless and has needed to be replaced for years. Little things like she was told that the university logo would be changed in 2009-10 and to wait a year to order new uniforms (10-year uniforms), yet went ahead and ordered them, and of course, the band continues to suck.

I'd love to hear from band members. Why can't we hear you and we can hear other team's pep bands? Why are the basketball bands fine compared to the rest of the SEC but the marching band is a joke? Why aren't these lines straight?

 

[cowbellslanger]

hahaha i agree i was sittin by the band and i noticed through out the game half would leave and get a hotdog then sit there and eat it for 15 mins.

 

[dawgatUSM]

It's sad taht opposing teams' Pep Bands continue to outplay ours. I agree with everything you said. However, it looks like that picture was taken during Madalon which would mess up formations just a bit because everybody is walking different directions.

 

[War Machine Dawg]

Some of you need to get this through your retarded skulls: Our band is giving all they've got. We have virtually no music program. Because we have virtually no music program, we can't attract quality musicians. No quality musicians = ****** band. It's not their fault they suck. It's the fact that the state of MS has decreed that the University of Mississippi have the funding necessary for a good music program and we don't get funding for that. I for one will refuse to bash the band until there's legitimate reason. And by legitimate reason, I mean we have necessary funding or actual band talent and are still awful. Since neither will change, I won't complain. Jeebus, this horse's horse has been beaten to death by now.

 

[Shmuley]

And the state's budget situation has hit shitstorm level 3, so don't expect any improvement for quite a while.

 

[Todd4State]

But I'll hit on your points:

1. I like the Patriotic show to. I always enjoyed it as a band member as well. Now, let's talk about why people like it. That show typically has more props and other things. I'm calling the giant flag a prop for the record, and then you have the choir singing with the band. They ask members of the military to stand when their service song is played, so that engages the crowd. In the past, they've had the cannon and fireworks. Alright, now compare that with the rest of the halftime shows. Yep, the other shows don't do that. There's the problem. The solution- at the very least, add more props and what band people call "horn flashes". An example of a horn flash would be what Madison Central's band did a few years ago- they did a domino effect thing with the entire band. Now, the props cost money, but horn flashes are free. Those little horn flashes are what make the show interesting to the casual observer.

1B- I counted 9 tubas last night. That's what is hurting our sound big time. When I was in the band (1996-1999) we had almost double that. Mrs. Lance needs to offer some more scholarship money to tuba players to try to fill the gaps.

2B- I've discussed this before. The band has a plethora of stand music in their folders. There has to be almost 100 songs in there. We used to barely practice said stand music before the games as well. So, the problem there is 1. half the band can't find the damn music. 2. 1/4 of the band quits trying to find said music and starts to make up a part- been there and done that to 3. The other 1/4 of the band is sight reading it. The solution is to have sets. LSU's band does this. They have a first down song, a second down song, and etc. And then they have a first down song for defense, and etc. If you do that the band will always know for the most part what to play just by knowing what down it is. If they don't know the down, they can always look at the huge *** scoreboard in front of them.

3. I haven't noticed a large amount of people being there. I have seen some holes, and it's up to the others to fill them in. If someone's not there, it's probably because they are hung over. Again speaking from personal experience. See the LSU/New Orleans band trip in 1998.

As far as the band scholarships- if it makes you feel better, they are piddly for the most part. Like a few hundred dollars. I used to use mine to buy my books. And it does vary- if you were in Lion's Band, you could get more money, and etc. I didn't do Lion's Band, but I didn't know I was going to even do band in college until midway through my senior year. The reason I did it was so that I could go watch the football games for free, meet people, and to be a part of MSU. I enjoyed doing it, and it was a great decision that I would do again in a heart beat. Compared to high school, college band is a joke. It's a LOT more laid back, and I liked that.

Now as far as the striaght lines, yep, those are supposed to be straight. Also, if you look closely at your picture, most of the people in the gaps are woodwinds, who typically suck at marching. Not an excuse though, that should be cleaned up by now.

 

[Rabid]

USM's band is better than ours also. Don't even mention the SWAC bands.

It's a convenient excuse. But, we make poor use of what we do have.

Like 615 said, the director is clueless and needs to go.

 

[615dawg]

1. We don't have a strong music program because the state has allotted Ole Miss as the music school? USM is by far the top music school in the state, and Delta State is probably better than Ole Miss as far as getting a music degree and attracting the top musicians.
2. We have a state of the art band hall. We didn't for a long time, but we do now. That excuse is ********.
3. One of the problems with our band, and this is going to sound weird, but we don't attract top musicians because everyone gets a scholarship. The top band scholarship is around $1,000, whereas other schools offer top musicians full tuition. Because everyone in our band receives at least $600, it makes it where we can't offer the actual good players higher amounts.
4. I'd rather have a 200 piece band that could play like a Jacksonville State than a 350-piece that plays what we have. Can we hire the director at Jacksonville State?

The crap about getting hot dogs is what I was mostly referring to. Half the band at any given time is not playing.

 

[Todd4State]

because of the music program at State. It's not that the quality of the program is bad, it's just that the only thing you can do with a music degree from State is teach. A lot of the top musicians may not want to be band directors or engineers.

USM is the music school in the State.

Sadly, MSU used to have a really good music program, but about 20 years ago the state of Mississippi took it from MSU and gave it all to USM. That has severely hurt MSU's band.

 

[sparky39762]

I was in the band in high school and made the Lions All-State band my junior and senior year. I did not plan on making my music my career, but I did ask the director about a scholarship. I was told that $500 / semester was the most they could give a non-music major, and I could get more (~$1000 / semester) if I majored in music. This was around 2003.

A lot of time goes into learning the marching formations, and $1000/semester is NOT worth it. If you want the band to be better, you need to offer more. I got a job as a desk assistant in the dorm. I sat and goofed off and made $1200/semester.

A friend of mine out of high school wanted to go into engineering but needed all the money he could get for college. MSU offered him 1/2 tuition scholarship, and ole miss offered him a full tuition scholarship. He took the cash for a lesser program. If they really want to improve the band, offering more money to come to a lesser program would probably steal some good high school musicians from other schools with better programs.</p>

 

[Todd4State]

you get what you pay for.

If I was on a full scholarship, I guarantee you that I would have taken it more seriously.

 

[mstatefan88]

Well the first problem is the facilities. The new band hall is considered one of the best in the SEC. Its a top notch facility. But if you are a music major, you don't spend much time in there. You spend most of your time in Music Building 1 and 2, which are 2 of the oldest and worst looking buildings on campus. Not a very good recruiting tool to show off if you want to get some of the best musicians in the state, and that just goes back to funding, so nothing the band can do there. Second of all, the main reason you don't hear us is because many people do not bring their music to the games, especially in the lower brass instruments. That has been a huge problem since I've been here, and that won't change until there is a punishment for not bringing music. We don't practice stand tunes as much as I would like us too, and I think we've come to a point to where we need to cut down on the amount of music we have and need to keep about 20 to 25 tunes and work those up. I personally think we should practice more, and that's when it gets complicated. To become better, you have to practice more. The more we practice, the more it becomes a time constraint and people quit. We've finally gotten the band up over 300, which was a goal for a long time. So do you keep numbers and maybe sacrifice overall band performance, or do you use the number as a recruiting tool and keep the band large. In my opinion, the amount of practice is the main culprit, and I don't think 4 to 5 hours a week is enough time to get done what we need done.

 

[QuaoarsKing]

The solution is to practice more (4 hours per week is not enough) and actually have consequences when band members screw up. That will make the people who don't care quit. For the record, it is completely inaccurate to say we're the worst marching band in the SEC. We're at least better than Vanderbilt and Ole Miss, and I don't think Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, or South Carolina are any better than us.

 

[studentdawg87]

Some of you need to get this through your retarded skulls: Our band is giving all they've got. We have virtually no music program. Because we have virtually no music program, we can't attract quality musicians. No quality musicians = ****** band. It's not their fault they suck. It's the fact that the state of MS has decreed that the University of Mississippi have the funding necessary for a good music program and we don't get funding for that. I for one will refuse to bash the band until there's legitimate reason. And by legitimate reason, I mean we have necessary funding or actual band talent and are still awful. Since neither will change, I won't complain. Jeebus, this horse's horse has been beaten to death by now.

I didn't realize Tyson Lee was in the band, because that is the exact same **** the sheep say about him.

 

[BCash]

Heres an idea: If you suck at playing music. Either dont play in the 17ing BAND or get better *****.

 

[FlabLoser]

[No message]

 

[BlindDawg]

1. We don't have a strong music program because the state has allotted Ole Miss as the music school? USM is by far the top music school in the state, and Delta State is probably better than Ole Miss as far as getting a music degree and attracting the top musicians.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">
USM and MC are the best music programs in the state. MC is a private school obviously, so they don't count, but USM gets most of the funding. MSU is an engineering/agriculture school so obviously the music program is not going to be a big focus for us. That being said, the music department faculty at State, for the most part, are top notch in my opinion. I am a music major at State, but haven't been in the band for a couple years. I think if the facilities were upgraded, we would be able to attract better musicians and ones who would major in music, thus upgrading the band program at the same time.</span>

2. We have a state of the art band hall. We didn't for a long time, but we do now. That excuse is ********.
<span style="font-weight: bold;">
The new band hall is a great asset and was much needed, but as someone else said, the three other music buildings are the epitomy of suck. As bad as the old band hall was, the three music buildings currently in use are just as bad. So even though the band hall is a great building, it doesn't serve the music majors as much as most think because we spend so much time in the other three buildings. So no, the facility excuse is actually not ********.

</span> 3. One of the problems with our band, and this is going to sound weird, but we don't attract top musicians because everyone gets a scholarship. The top band scholarship is around $1,000, whereas other schools offer top musicians full tuition. Because everyone in our band receives at least $600, it makes it where we can't offer the actual good players higher amounts.

<span style="font-weight: bold;">First off, I know of very few, if any, places that will give you full tuition to play in the band. I could be wrong, but I don't think I am. And if there are schools that do that, I would imagine that it is one of the top music programs in the country and thus very hard to get into. Not so at MSU and shouldn't be because like I already said, we're an engineering school. Also, things may have changed since I was in band, but everyone did not get at least $600 for being in band. I know some that got less than $200. They do offer the better players larger amounts, and music majors also get more than the non-majors. You couldn't be farther off base with this comment, but I appreciate the passion for the music program (seriously). I wish more people would care so we could get the much needed upgrades.

</span> 4. I'd rather have a 200 piece band that could play like a Jacksonville State than a 350-piece that plays what we have. Can we hire the director at Jacksonville State?

<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jacksonville State is an amazing band and music program because they are associated with the Spirit drum corp. Now, I can't speak knowledgably about that relationship and the detailed benefits that they receive from one another, but make no mistake the Spirit is a big reason for Jacksonville State's band and music program. Given that relationship between the Spirit and Jacksonville State, I'd say the chances of us hiring away their director are somewhere between not likely and not a chance in hell. I'm not a fan of the band director, and she is part of the problem of why the band does not live up to its potential, but there is a much bigger problem at hand. Upgrading the facilities is the biggest need, and I believe that it would greatly improve all aspects of the music department. After that is done, you can move onto the smaller problems such as faculty decisions.</span>

 

[msumhsfan]

**** not to bring up Ron's issue with the NCAA but the baseball team probably doesn't get that much money for scholarships and we are known for baseball (dont know numbers for sure so dont get mad) but hell how much do you need to play an instrument

 

[BigFan71]

<span style="font-weight: bold;">
</span> 4. I'd rather have a 200 piece band that could play like a Jacksonville State than a 350-piece that plays what we have. Can we hire the director at Jacksonville State?

<span style="font-weight: bold;">Jacksonville State is an amazing band and music program because they are associated with the Spirit drum corp. Now, I can't speak knowledgably about that relationship and the detailed benefits that they receive from one another, but make no mistake the Spirit is a big reason for Jacksonville State's band and music program. Given that relationship between the Spirit and Jacksonville State, I'd say the chances of us hiring away their director are somewhere between not likely and not a chance in hell. I'm not a fan of the band director, and she is part of the problem of why the band does not live up to its potential, but there is a much bigger problem at hand. Upgrading the facilities is the biggest need, and I believe that it would greatly improve all aspects of the music department. After that is done, you can move onto the smaller problems such as faculty decisions.</span>

A few notes on Jacksonville State from a former Marching Southerner...

The Marching Southerners were one of the top college bands in the nation prior to entering into a relationship with Spirit. In the late 1990's, Spirit of Atlanta had fallen on hard times, and JSU helped them pick up the pieces. The corp was located on campus at JSU for a number of years, even going by the name "Spirit from JSU," and serving as the "summer performance ensemble" of Jacksonville State University. The partnership was dissolved last year as Spirit should be able to stand on their own feet again. There is still a good relationship, but Spirit moved back to Atlanta.

The significant difference between Jacksonville and MSU is probably in the music department and (believe it or not) tradition of the program. The JSU music department is very respected and JSU draws a lot of music majors from Georgia - a state with very good high school band programs. No knock on Mississippi, but there is no comparison between the two states when it comes to high school bands. Not surprisingly, there are a lot of Georgia band directors who graduated from JSU and funnel students there... but the music building in Jacksonville (Mason Hall) is horrible. Nothing on campus at MSU could be worse...it is so bad that accreditation is a concern. Jacksonville State will have to upgrade the facilities soon or there may be SACS problems.

The Southerners march around 350 (380 last year), and unlike most college bands, the majority of the members are music majors - and they do offer full scholarships for band members on a competitive basis...or at least they did when I was there.

The fullness of sound that the band has is due in large part to the tuba's JSU uses. JSU marches around 30 Conn 20-J upright recording basses, instead of the traditional sousaphone most bands have. The 20-J is a very heavy silver plated beast of a tuba that went out of production in 1964, but JSU owns 30+ horns and spends a great deal of money keeping them in good condition. They are amazing horns. If you watch the promo video, you will see them clearly.

I appreciate the compliments toward the Southerners. Some "tradtional" college band members criticize The Marching Southerners because they only play one show theme per season, and just add or subtract bits. The simple reason is, the music is so technical, and the drill so difficult, that changing wholesale it is not possible. It is an issue of quality over quantity.

The director Ken Bodiford was a drum major at Jacksonville State in the early 1980's.

Speaking of patriotic shows, that was Jacksonville State's theme this season. If you like that sort of thing, you should check it out

<span style="text-decoration: underline;">Marching Southerners 2009 part 1
Marching Southerners 2009 part 2
</span>
Band Promo Video
Take care Sixpack and whup the rebs!

 

[615dawg]

A new music building should have been part of the new band hall. Make it one damn big building.

You are right - Kentucky and Vanderbilt may be on par with the Famous Maroon Band, but every other band in the SEC blows them away, as well as Middle Tennessee, Troy and of course Jacksonville State have come in and blown them off the field (These bands would be among the top in the SEC)

If its the director, which everyone in the band has alluded to - get rid of her ***.

 

[615dawg]

then transferred to State. She left the band after one semester. Stories of how horrible things were.

 

[MSU2006]

that they never do anything creatively. even if the members don't care, seats are empty, etc, you never see them move their trumpets up and down in sequence, or bob the tubas up and down with the beat or anything. They just aren't creative with their performance like other SEC schools are, and therefore they aren't even fun to watch, much less listen to, like other SEC schools. It wouldn't take a lot for them to at least get creative in their appearance during songs.

 

[615dawg]

is hiring a new director. I have been PMed by a band member to say this.

-----

They hired an assistant director from Auburn a few years back. Auburn's band is not the best in the SEC, but its middle of the pack and they do a good job of getting the crowd involved.

Lance has tied his hands. He tries to bring some new stuff in (arrangements of current songs for the stands, etc.) but most of it is suppressed. He is basically in charge of the basketball band, which is why they aren't as bad compared to the rest of the SEC.

Fire the director, Elva Kaye Lance. Its the only way. If you were to poll the members of the band, she would have at best a 20% approval rating.

 

[alanmet]

I have been quietly reading these weekly bashings of the band for a while now and finally felt compelled to join this message board just to reply to this thread.

615dawg, thank you for your input. Unlike football, the band members have far less control in what is executed. So please, if you have a problem with the band, why don't you let your voice be heard to the people that are in control of what the band does.

The picture you snapped is just that, a picture. If you smile and blink during a picture, does that mean you blink in EVERY picture you take? of course not. Yeah, there are people out of line, but believe it or not, corrections can be made while moving. The picture you have was taken during Madelon. Probably the hardest thing the band does, in terms of keeping a set clean. Half the band is marching one direction, and half the band is marching another direction. I actually think that picture is pretty good for what it is of. Individually, the set is not hard, but when 300+ people are trying to execute it and cross one another at the exact same time, yeah it isn't going to look perfect.

If you think the scholarships given to the band are too much for what we do, I challenge you to give 5PM - 6PM every Mon - Thurs to coming to rehearsal. This wouldnt even involve you playing an instrument...just simply going out to watch. I can assure you that you wouldnt and couldnt do it for the entire semester. Oh yeah, and every Friday 5-6 before home games. Not to mention the 2 weeks before classes start with band camp.

As for the hot dog eating, we arent allowed to purchase food at the stadium. We do receive an apple after half-time, though. And let me tell you, it is one of the most well deserved apples I eat. Our time is dedicated to the band 3 hours prior to kick off, which means no food. So, let's break this down. Alabama Game: We get there around 3, warm up, do pre-game, play the first half of the game, perform halftime. After halftime, (approximately 6 hours after the last meal we could have possibly eaten) we receive the apple. Naturally, anyone would be hungry after 6 hours of not eating. Even if all you were doing is sitting on your ***. I can assure you that we are doing at least a little bit more than that. So youre going to complain about members not playing their instrument because they are eating an apple?

I invite anyone bashing the band to come out and watch the drumline junction show 2 hours before kickoff in the junction. We DO have one of the best drumlines in the SEC.

Please don't bash on members. If you want to complain, send it to the director(s) and give them your input. I'm sure you are much more of an expert than they are. </p>

 

[Rabid]

If the entire band was as good as the drumline, then few of us would have problems with the band.

However, it seems that the drumline is the only part of the band committed to doing anything well. And that includes the director. Which is why I'll continue to say she needs to be replaced.

 

[615dawg]

The drumline is very good. I imagine they have a "director" of their own in addition to Elva Kaye.

Todd is our resident baseball and band expert. He echoes the same thoughts above.

The director is the problem. And your "We practice an hour a day argument?"

A quick Google search says:

Alabama: 90 minutes/M-F
Auburn: 90 minutes/M-F
LSU: 2 hours/M-Thurs
South Carolina: 90 minutes/M-Th

Thats all I could find.

And we visibly watch as half the band does not play and we visibly watch members eat in the stands. I'll take pictures next time. And if you really don't think there is a problem - I've received five private messages from band members thanking me for bringing this up.

Bring Spirit back to State. Fire Elva Kaye Lance. My one man pep rally.

 

[lawdawg02]

If you think the scholarships given to the band are too much for what we do, I challenge you to give 5PM - 6PM every Mon - Thurs to coming to rehearsal.

if you think 4 hours a week is a grueling schedule, i shudder to think how you'll cope once you enter the working world. i respect the time and effort you put in, but don't act like you're burning the midnight oil or working your fingers to the bone with your grueling rehearsal schedule.

that said, they should give you some food. if you need representation, let me know...

also, i really liked the halftime show this week. the chorus and band being played over the sound system sounded really good.

 

[mstatefan88]

I said yesterday that we don't practice enough, and you just showed that the bands that are better than us practice more per week than we do. Each of those numbers would be per day, not per week. We practice between 4 to 5 hours a week. These bands practice over 2 hours more per week than we do. So to answer your question, yes I'm going to give you the "we only practice one hour a day" excuse, because it's true.

 

[615dawg]

If you read his post, he wasn't using it as an excuse, he was throwing it as support.

If you are only practicing four hours a week, its showing in comparison to other bands. I would at least double it. If people can't handle it, let them quit. Quality over Quantity.

 

[alanmet]

No, 4 hours a week is not grueling. But added to a full course load, it does become cumbersome and adds a time constraint to academics. I could make $300-$600 in a week at a college style job. We are talking about that amount for an entire semester? That being said, I am not in the band for the money. I'm in it because I enjoy playing in the drumline and being a part of the gameday atmosphere.

I agree with msstatefan88 that we dont practice enough for the level of band that is desired by the fan base.

 

[Todd4State]

we also only practiced an hour. I for one, and I think most people in the band at that time would have been willing to practice that one more hour, or heck even 30 minutes a day to get things better. What the band does is not bad right now, but it could be a lot better, and that extra practice time would help out some.

We actually brought this up to Mrs. Lance before when I was there. The reason she did not want to change it at the time was because Dr. Sills promised the band that they would only have to practice an hour. At the time he was having major health issues, and she was very sensitive about it- the time thing. But that's a big reason why they still practice an hour. Maybe she feels differently now 10 years later.

 

[615dawg]

don't have to take classes?

Again, its not for everyone.

Let the ones that can't do it quit - thats the ones that probably aren't playing, eating hot dogs, or are in the band to go to away games.

Take their scholarship money and throw it at the ones that want to be a part of it.
Fire the current director and hire one that knows what an SEC band should be like. We are paying her a little over $100k. Jacksonville State pays theirs $90k - we can get a good director.
Up the practice time to two hours/M-W-F and keep one hour on T Th. That ups practice time to 8 hours/week.
Get some of those tubas that Jacksonville State has if thats the problem.

I will make this pledge. I will donate to the band program annually if they start putting a good product on the field.

 

[Todd4State]

was even more difficult to march with no lines on the practice field. I remember one time during practice, we were rehearsing that, and I ended up marching out of the back of the end zone. I felt like an ***.

We had a girl that did that during an actual pre-game. She marched out of the back of the end zone, and then she just went back to the bench where the football players sit for the rest of the pre-game show. So, I guess it could be worse.

 

[alanmet]

The drumline does practice an additional 30 minutes every day and an additional hour every wednesday on top of that.

 

[Todd4State]

don't have to take classes?

Again, its not for everyone.

Let the ones that can't do it quit - thats the ones that probably aren't playing, eating hot dogs, or are in the band to go to away games.

Take their scholarship money and throw it at the ones that want to be a part of it.

Fire the current director and hire one that knows what an SEC band should be like. We are paying her a little over $100k. Jacksonville State pays theirs $90k -
we can get a good director.

Up the practice time to two hours/M-W-F and keep one hour on T Th. That ups practice time to 8 hours/week.

Get some of those tubas that Jacksonville State has if thats the problem.

I will make this pledge. I will donate to the band program annually if they start putting a good product on the field.

You try walking through an LSU tailgate in Baton Rouge dressed like a maroon and white member of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band. That is all.

I had God knows what thrown at me, and of all of the times I have been flipped off in my life, at least 75% of those times were on that band trip.

And I haven't even talked about the 65 year old woman that mooned me.

For no reason other than the fact that I was in the band.

That's why I want to beat those mother<17> so bad. <17> you Tyson Lee. <17> you Jackie for your LSU voodoo curse. <17> you Croom for being you during LSU week.

I feel better now.

 

[muscmkr]

1) MSU's band does need to do more to involve their audience. The Patriotic Show is a crowd pleaser due to that fact alone. I agree that there needs to be more low brass support in the group - solid percussion and bass will help to carry the ensemble much more.

2) I also agree that the amount of music in the folders is daunting at times. Even when I kept the music in order (by the gameday line-up or ABC order), I still had a tough time being ready when needed. I love playing stand tunes, so I wasn't slacking off at all. I just simply didn't have time.

3) Every band deals with hole issues - the fact is that we don't seem to have enough members to warrant having enough "alternates" to fill in gaps when necessary. Scholarship or not, things happen (scometimes college-related) that pull members away from performances. The problem is that we don't have the resources to correct these issues when they arise.

And, yes, I completely agree with the MSU/LSU '98 game referral - twas definitely an unforgettable experience. Let's also not forget the band performing (year 2000-2001?) in Memphis in FULL uniform in scorching 118 degree weather. We put ourselves out there for the crowd and the team, and many of us ended up nearly passing out or actually needing medical attention ... or how about the Arkansas game when Pres Bush made an appearance, and we all stood in the snow/sleet/rain and froze b/c we were doing our jobs (I ended up in 1st Aid and had many doctor's visits to follow) ... see, we don't get it as easy as you folks think!

Poor straight lines - we don't practice as much as other bands do, but perhaps that's because we, again, don't have the best funding and support.

Lots to think about before being pounced by some random "fan" who's all too quick to point out all of the negatives ... how about we give you guys a horn and some drill and music in a wool uniform and see how you do at it yourselves?!?!?

(Todd, I must say that as a woodwind player, I'd happily kick your butt at a marching contest any day - bring it on my dear friend)

 

[mstatefan88]

But it kinda got squashed. I think we need to practice more, even if it is 30 minutes extra per day. That would put us up to 6 hours per week on away game weeks when we don't practice on Friday, and put us up to 7 and a half on weeks when we do have a home game. I also suggested us adding an extra day to band camp. I think even if people quit, it won't be enough to really affect the band severely in numbers, and it will probably get rid of some of the people that don't care. I'm about to graduate, so it doesn't apply to me as much, but I think that there are enough people in band that would be ok with practicing more per week to increase the overall performance of the band to bring it up and have a serious conversation about actually implementing it next year. I would have been all for it this year, but either way, it needs to happen.

 

[Todd4State]

(Todd, I must say that as a woodwind player, I'd happily kick your butt at a marching contest any day - bring it on my dear friend)

Inside sixpackspeak joke.