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If We Ever Play In A Big Game, Will Our Band Be Ready?

RutgersRaRa

RutgersRaRa

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I watch other schools' bands and, for the most part, they are really good in these bowl and playoff games (as well as during the regular season), and it dawned on me while watching the beginning of the Rose Bowl just now that there is more to being in a national bowl game than just football. So how many years will it take for our band's new director to get us to be fun to watch? I've really wanted to enjoy our band over the last decade, but it has been so bland.

Those who understand bands, what does it take to get to elite or semi-elite status as a band? Is it like football where you need lots of money? Is it primarily choreography and song selection? Educate us, por favor.
 
RutgersRaRa said:
Those who understand bands, what does it take to get to elite or semi-elite status as a band? Is it like football where you need lots of money? Is it primarily choreography and song selection? Educate us, por favor.
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I've written reams on this, so I'll try to dig some of that. Simply put, it's the leadership of the band. Get the right director, you can overcome any obstacle in your path. I've seen certain people crying about money as the reason for our band: that's garbage. Every band I've marched in, including my years in the RU Marching Band, never had enough money. Yet that did not stop our director at the time, Dr. William (Bubba) Berz, from growing the band to close to 260 people and putting on exciting shows with great music. Hell, back in the 80's when the football team was not that good, believe it or not, people would stay in their seats to watch the halftime shows. I remember one writer said that the band had reached the Big Time before the football team did. Even after he (Dr. Berz) moved up the ladder and we had 3-4 directors over about a 6-7 year period, the band was still good. Hopefully the upcoming change in leadership will start the band on an upward trend in terms of size, music selection and drill routines.
 
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Funny I was going to post earlier and forgot:

Does ANYONE have any info as to the weasel's replacement?
 
DJ Spanky said:
I've written reams on this, so I'll try to dig some of that. Simply put, it's the leadership of the band. Get the right director, you can overcome any obstacle in your path. I've seen certain people crying about money as the reason for our band: that's garbage. Every band I've marched in, including my years in the RU Marching Band, never had enough money. Yet that did not stop our director at the time, Dr. William (Bubba) Berz, from growing the band to close to 260 people and putting on exciting shows with great music. Hell, back in the 80's when the football team was not that good, believe it or not, people would stay in their seats to watch the halftime shows. I remember one writer said that the band had reached the Big Time before the football team did. Even after he (Dr. Berz) moved up the ladder and we had 3-4 directors over about a 6-7 year period, the band was still good. Hopefully the upcoming change in leadership will start the band on an upward trend in terms of size, music selection and drill routines.
Click to expand...
I kinda thought this was the case, that money wasn't the biggest issue. I hope we get someone who is creative and can create excitement. How does a band director get replaced? Is it Hobbs' decision and, if so, who educates him on the criteria required for a good band director?
 
RutgersRaRa said:
I kinda thought this was the case, that money wasn't the biggest issue. I hope we get someone who is creative and can create excitement. How does a band director get replaced? Is it Hobbs' decision and, if so, who educates him on the criteria required for a good band director?
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"money" = the excuse ....is it a problem, sure, but it's not the reason the current director (apparently) lost about 60% of each frosh class from year-to-year.
 
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RutgersRaRa said:
I watch other schools' bands and, for the most part, they are really good in these bowl and playoff games (as well as during the regular season), and it dawned on me while watching the beginning of the Rose Bowl just now that there is more to being in a national bowl game than just football. So how many years will it take for our band's new director to get us to be fun to watch? I've really wanted to enjoy our band over the last decade, but it has been so bland.

Those who understand bands, what does it take to get to elite or semi-elite status as a band? Is it like football where you need lots of money? Is it primarily choreography and song selection? Educate us, por favor.
Click to expand...
Cannot tell you how much sleep I lose over that question.
 
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RutgersRaRa said:
Seriously or facetiously?
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Facetiously. But I went to Princeton, where the band specializes in not worrying about formations, but rather focuses on off color insults to the other institutions. My favorite bit was when they did a salute to Oedipus and played, "I want a girl just like the girl who married dear old dad." True.

To me, there's Florida A&M and everybody else. So don't go by me.
 
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In 1966, they set precedent by bringing in Scott Whitener from Michigan who brought ‘Big Ten’ styled uniforms to the East. The 1967 season saw them in eight halftime shows including a Princeton performance that Whitener called, ‘a psychedelic experience.’

In 1968, the Rutgers “Marching 100” appeared at Giants and Jets games broadcast on CBS and NBC, the East-West Shrine Game broadcast on ABC, the Rose Bowl where they represented Rutgers for the upcoming 100th anniversary year of college football and finished with a special concert at Disneyland. Rutgers President Mason Gross back in 1968 said, “…blossoming into a first class band has been about the most striking event of the fall.”

This year’s marching band is one of the largest the University has ever seen, with 150 members,” according to September 21, 1981 Targum. “The band, which performs four different routines every year, practices three days a week during sixth period in the Busch stadium parking lot. The students also practice every Saturday morning before the football games.” Their musical work also earned themselves one course credit.
 
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DJ Spanky said:
I've written reams on this, so I'll try to dig some of that. Simply put, it's the leadership of the band. Get the right director, you can overcome any obstacle in your path. I've seen certain people crying about money as the reason for our band: that's garbage. Every band I've marched in, including my years in the RU Marching Band, never had enough money. Yet that did not stop our director at the time, Dr. William (Bubba) Berz, from growing the band to close to 260 people and putting on exciting shows with great music. Hell, back in the 80's when the football team was not that good, believe it or not, people would stay in their seats to watch the halftime shows. I remember one writer said that the band had reached the Big Time before the football team did. Even after he (Dr. Berz) moved up the ladder and we had 3-4 directors over about a 6-7 year period, the band was still good. Hopefully the upcoming change in leadership will start the band on an upward trend in terms of size, music selection and drill routines.
Click to expand...
I wasn't in band under Berz, but have seen his bands, and him conduct rehearsals - he's awesome!
 
I don't think the NY6 bowls will allow the Rutgers DJ in their booth to play their music from the PA booth.
 
So no info? 1991? Houston? 5871? RU is playing this one "close to the vest" I guess lol?
 
According to this,it looks like the Rutgers Band Director position has not been filled yet. Note one of the job requirements--recruit,Recruit,RECRUIT high schools !!! We should have been doing this for decades. Every year, the Rutgers Band Director or staff member should visit every high school in the state to speak with students in their high school music programs/bands. In addition, the high school band festivals should be at Rutgers, not high schools. From what I was told, we scheduled Band Day on the same day as some big high school festival at Brick that brought in a bunch of schools. It looked like about four or five high schools were at the Rutgers Band Day game this Fall.--http://www.masongross.rutgers.edu/job-postings
 
Look at the bright side, Stanford's band played at halftime one Rose Bowl. What an embarrassment.
 
Different strokes for different folks. I've never been a fan of the chair step style.

But I do remember hearing a song about Princeton on the band bus my freshman year...

I had three directors in my first three years at RU. The third one stayed a few years.

Get the right director and you would see a dramatic difference in two or three years.
 
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Scarlet_Scourge said:
In the future, football will be played by Robots.. so you know... MIT and CalTech will win the NC every other year.
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Circuit board malfunctions are a real threat to the distant future of the game. We need to rally around our engineering department, which, as you know, is just a few nine irons from the stadium.
 
brookdale-soda said:
Really?! That's great. I'd love to see an RU high stepping band. I think with the right style, it could help recruitment.
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Yep. We used to alternate between high step and glide style to accentuate different parts of the drill. Part of band camp was spent just learning the proper way to march both styles. It was pretty neat to see the band switch back and forth between the different styles.

I think coolest thing we ever did was finishing up an American music show, where we formed a single band front from goal line to goal line on the far hash (yes, we were big enough to do that), then, playing The Stars And Stripes Forever at half speed, we did half speed high step to the near hash, at which point we went to the normal cadence for the song, switched to glide step and marched into our final formation.
 
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AreYouNUTS said:
Funny I was going to post earlier and forgot:

Does ANYONE have any info as to the weasel's replacement?
Click to expand...

Why do I suspect that this poster is already sharpening his knives as we await the naming of the new RU band director ? Ha !
 
Knightmoves said:
Why do I suspect that this poster is already sharpening his knives as we await the naming of the new RU band director ? Ha !
Click to expand...
Nuts has been clamoring for a new director since I've been on the board, so whether he agrees or disagrees with the hire, I'm gonna guess that 1) He'll be at least marginally happier, and 2) We will know his opinion.
 
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