[RagingTireFire]

1. dodohead
"Crafted" in the suburbs of America, pertains to a very if not extremely stupid person that simply cannot help themselves in aoviding inept doings.

*

If calling me names is the worst thing you ever do, BJW, we'll all have gotten off lucky.

*(thanks to UrbanDictionary.com)

[BJWilliams]

thanks...I hope its the worst thing I ever do too...

Anyway, Here's hoping that the band plays more recent stuff in the stands but I know that you wont be hearing everything that everybody wants so you arent gonna make everybody happy. But at least hopefully the band will be able to add to the gameday experience.

As the old cliche goes, "you can please some of the people some of the time, some of the people all the time, all of the people some of the time but not all of the people all of the time"

[thepostman]

dodohead?? wow bj...i am sure that cut deep!!

[Rocketfan]

Seriously has it come to this.....were having a band debate. Im disappointed in myself that i was bored enough to even open this thread, for some of you guys posting......wow desperate to talk much?

[JDUB]

well tyler (and i know thats not your name but since that is what you have on your login that is what I will call you)

the correct term to call him is tbgbg, or tgbgtbgbtbg

[jcmanson]

well tyler (and i know thats not your name but since that is what you have on your login that is what I will call you)

the correct term to call him is tbgbg, or tgbgtbgbtbg

Yeah, that needs to be added to the 101 thread.

[bassrocker4god04]

Thanks for the assist. Still rather new to the thread conversations haha.

[BJWilliams]

I went to Salem VA last night with some friends to watch some Drum Corps International groups perform (if there was a "major league" for marching band this would be it) and some of the marching I saw last night was absolutely top notch. I mean it looked awesome! and interestingly enough much of the music they did last night was a mix of classical arranged for drum and bugle corps and even stuff from modern Broadway musicals. It was some of the best Ive heard in a while. I dont think this band could get to DCI level but I think that people can definitely learn what good tight marching and formations look like from watching it.

[TylerBakersGonnaBGreat]

So youre saying our band has been slacking and should be better... hmmm... Since you guys vote on everything thats done, Im sure it will be better.

[bassrocker4god04]

hahaha. again we try and will do our best. Also again if any of you out there want to come and join to try and improve us more we welcome all of you! But we also understand if you dont think you are quite up to scratch.

[TylerBakersGonnaBGreat]

hahaha. again we try and will do our best. Also again if any of you out there want to come and join to try and improve us more we welcome all of you! But we also understand if you dont think you are quite up to scratch.

No thanks I get more done in the stands 1 game than the band does in a year, thanks though.

[bassrocker4god04]

I'd love to see you come out and learn all we do and then tell me that we don't do anything...especially before you start telling me that we do nothing. As I've said before every band (whether H.S. or college) is different. We start well behind many bands. This includes time band camp starts and practice times through out the week (only six hours opposed to 12 or more for the more competitive bands). Again I agree that some things we do needs work and there are many different ways to do halftime shows. Ours works for the style and type of band we have. If you don't like it, that is your choice but don't insult those of us who have worked hard to please the majority of the crowd (which judging by the reactions after the shows, we do well). Like B.J. and I both have said we cant please 100% of the people 100% of the time but we do the best we can and do it pretty well. Until you come out and join us and march with us and deal with the difficulties we do, you have no room to speak about our band. All I hear from all those who don't like the band and yet aren't in it and never have been is that they could do so much better. Unfortunately the instant they are offered the chance to join up and offer constructive criticism from the inside after seeing exactly how difficult it can be to work certain things out, they back off and decide to keep insulting all those who are simply trying to entertain all of you in the stands. We are serving you all in the best way we can with music and movement (again to please the majority). If you are not in the majority, there are many other things you can do during halftime. Also if you are not in the majority, the band doesn't need your insults. Letting us know what you would like to see instead is fine and even requested (as I have tried to show previously in my posts) but unless you are in now, or have been in THIS band, don't try and hurt those of us who try to make you happy. If you don't like all I have said, I really don't care. I have said my piece to refute the attacks on me and my family (because thats what the band is to me).

[sweetnahmah1]

[bassrocker4god04]

lol thanks for the hillarity

[savedbygrace5985]

For those of you who seem to think that dogging the band is a productive passtime, you're wasting your valuable time. Posting all of these negative things about us is not going to change our style or the way that we perform. We do what we do because WE enjoy it; not because we think that the fans will like us better if we march a certain way or play a certain kind of music. If you do not like or do not appreciate the hard work and dedication that goes into being in a group such as ours, you are not obligated to watch our show. But until you've marched specifically with our group, you cannot fairly judge what we do.

I am not saying that we are perfect or that our shows are the most entertaining all of the time. There are many other bands out there who perform at a higher level than we do. However, we are at a Christian university and, because of that, we are obligated to keep our shows filled with clean songs (that have clean lyrics) and clean visuals (i.e. we aren't allowed to shake our booties ).

I, personally receive a great deal more compliments on our shows than I do criticism and I am noticing that the amount of people who are criticizing the band on this website is not growing so there must not be too many people who agree with them...at least not passionately enough to stand up and say so.

That being said, I guess what I'm really trying to say is that if you do not have the gonads to come out and see what we are all about, please keep your mouths shut. Negativity is not appreciated and it's really not going to change anything.

Thank you.

[ToTheLeft]

If you hear a song on the radio that you don't like, and you're with your friend, you tell them you don't like it, and talk about it, right?

Consider what we do here a lot like that.

This has nothing to do with us discrediting the hard work the band puts in to compete.

We just don't like the final product at football games.

Plain and simple.

This isn't some magical forum that everyone reads, no need to be up in arms like the International Band Association is reading this and thinking about not giving you a superior or something... we are friends, who talk about what we see and hear, and we don't pull punches. The band is not horrible, and no one here thinks that we could gather up a bunch of non-musicians and do better. We just know what other bands can do, and know that this band might just be capable of something more... entertaining?

But, after all, what we say isn't going to change anything... and you do this because you enjoy it... so there's no need to be up in arms on some website defending yourself... right?

Oh... wait...

[BJWilliams]

I have been reading a lot of these posts and I thought Id weigh in in a more substantive way:

Most people outside of a number of my friends within band know the story of how I even got involved in marching band in the first place.

Where I went to high school, we were so small that we did not have a football team (still don't to this day). Not to mention, we did not have a marching band, so when I got to military school, I had had zero exposure to it whatsoever. I had learned to play the trombone early in high school but never really had much of a chance to do anything with it. In any case, I had heard about the school having a marching band so I decided to give it a try. We played for corps parades on campus but also played in the Danville Veteran's Day Parade. When I left there, and arrived at Liberty, I had considered marching band but didn't know how to become a part of it at Liberty, so I decided to at least watch. Well I went to a couple football games and when I saw what the band here did, I was like a lot of you here and said to myself, "I bet I could do that." So I asked around, and got information on who to talk to and played for Dr Kerr (Let's just say, Ive heard better sounding death throes from a horse). I knew I wasn't very good so I decided that I wanted to still try this marching band thing, so when I came back in August, I asked what I could do. Well, finally after a week I was given a pair of cymbals and the rest is history. Having been a part of the band for 5 years, Ive seen a lot of things from the perspective of someone who started on the outside first, and now on the inside. For those of you who have watched and offered criticism (some of it not very constructive), why not give it a try. I know that I cant march anymore because of my knee in its current state, but by getting a chance to see just what goes on in those days and weeks leading up to what many of you see in the stands every Saturday, why not come out to a rehearsal and look at how much has to go into even putting that together. It can be pretty eye opening (and its a pretty nice workout too.)

[Cider Jim]

BJ, if you no longer march, what is your role with the band? Can you give us your a job description?

[SuperJon]

We start well behind many bands. This includes time band camp starts and practice times through out the week (only six hours opposed to 12 or more for the more competitive bands).

This supports my request for less technical shows and doing at least two throughout the year.

Until you come out and join us and march with us and deal with the difficulties we do, you have no room to speak about our band. All I hear from all those who don't like the band and yet aren't in it and never have been is that they could do so much better. Unfortunately the instant they are offered the chance to join up and offer constructive criticism from the inside after seeing exactly how difficult it can be to work certain things out, they back off and decide to keep insulting all those who are simply trying to entertain all of you in the stands.

This is a cop out. This is you not liking criticism. You don't see athletes coming on here and saying not to criticize a team until they've played the game more. I would love to march again. I really would. And if I did, I guarantee I'd be near the top of the band once I got my lips back and knocked the rust off. The thing is there are things much more important to me that marching now. I would rather work, make money, and have more free time. I'm not backing off when I say things. I don't "insult" without also offering ways to fix the things I don't like.

[SuperJon]

We do what we do because WE enjoy it; not because we think that the fans will like us better if we march a certain way or play a certain kind of music.

This is the main problem people have. It's not that they don't think you're good because honestly, most people on here don't know what a good marching band is. The problem is that you have the mindset that people come to football games for you, the band. My high school was the exact same way. You try to make your halftime show so technical and so good by doing the little things that 13,980 of the 14,000 people in the stands won't even get or see.

What people want is for the band to be an added part to the football game. They want it to be able to play music during breaks instead of having to pipe in stuff over the PA. They want something they can recognize and enjoy for halftime. Most of the people in the stands have no clue what Malaguena is.

It's a band thing. Believe me, I know. The band thinks that they're the most important thing in the world and everyone else who hasn't been there doesn't get it or doesn't deserve to have an opinion.

I am not saying that we are perfect or that our shows are the most entertaining all of the time. There are many other bands out there who perform at a higher level than we do. However, we are at a Christian university and, because of that, we are obligated to keep our shows filled with clean songs (that have clean lyrics) and clean visuals (i.e. we aren't allowed to shake our booties Wink ).

Do you even know what Hey Baby is from? I'm asking that seriously. Look it up.

If we can play that song then we can play a lot of other stand tunes. Some of the songs people on here (TBGBG) would hate because he only likes rap. A lot of the best stand tunes are from the 70's. The Baptist side would love that. Carry On My Wayward son is one of the best stand tunes I've ever heard. There's all kinds of stuff you could do in the stands if you cared about it. What matters to the Spirit on the Mountain is their field show. Entertaining comes second and the stand tunes come third. You can see that by the way the band performs. The field show is always good by the end of the year from a technical standpoint. It has good movement, horn levels match, there's a good amount of GE, and from a marching band standpoint it's good. However, from the standpoint of a fan at a football game, there is a lot to be desired.

[RagingTireFire]

[Do you even know what Hey Baby is from? I'm asking that seriously. Look it up.

I'm not doing that. It's a Hendrix song, isn't it?

[SuperJon]

No.

[RagingTireFire]

Then just say it. I'm not doing research for this topic.

[SuperJon]

I wanna know if this "bando" knows.

[BJWilliams]

BJ, if you no longer march, what is your role with the band? Can you give us your a job description?

I'm a manager. I was a manager in 2004 because I was the last guy cut from the drumline. I continued in 2005 so I could try to march in 2006 until I injured my knee (a story which has been recounted on this board numerous times). The managers (field crew is the official job title) are responsible for truck loading and unloading, general errands during band practice, making sure the band is supplied with water in the stands during the game and after the halftime performance. After halftime, the managers assist the pit percussion with reloading their equipment. (I follow the game while were loading by looking at the scoreboard and listening for the fight song). Once the game is over the managers will stay after the game and pack up the drum stands and quilts used in the stands as well as pack up the box of stands music and return them to the fine arts hall, often well after the band has returned, gotten final instructions and begins returning their uniforms.

As for the origins of Hey Baby, it was a song from the 1960s written by a couple folks most people have never heard of, Bruce Channel and Margaret Cobb, and has been used by John Lennon, Ringo Starr and in part by Bruce Springsteen in one of his songs which made it onto the soundtrack of the movie "Dirty Dancing"