I'm with the Band: Kent State

Band: Marching Golden Flashes
University: Kent State University
Founded: 1919
Current Director: Frank Cosenza
Today's Bowl Game: Arkansas State, GoDaddy.com Bowl, 9 p.m., Mobile, Alabama

Photo via Kent State University

An excellent promotional video:



"Zombie Nation":

I'm with the Band: Pittsburgh

Band: University of Pittsburgh Varsity Marching Band
University: University of Pittsburgh
Founded: 1911
Current Director: Jack R. Anderson
Fight Song: "Hail to Pitt"
Today's Bowl Game: Mississippi, BBVA Compass Bowl, 1 p.m., Birmingham, Alabama

Photo via Wikipedia

"Victory Chorale":



They can dance, too.  "Party Rock Anthem":

I'm with the Band: Air Force

Band: Air Force Academy Marching Band
University: The United States Air Force Academy
Founded: 1955
Today's Bowl Game: Rice, Armed Forces Bowl, 11:45 a.m., Fort Worth, Texas

Photo via The United States Air Force Academy Band

As with Army and Navy, the Air Force Academy Marching Band is staffed not by students but by professional musicians who are also full-time military personnel.  The Air Force definitely has one of the better military songs around:



Also, just as at the other academies, there are a number of ensembles serving a variety of functions.  Here's the Drum & Bugle Corps covering a halftime show:

I'm with the Band: Washington

Band: University of Washington Husky Marching Band
University: University of Washington
Founded: 1929
Current Director: Dr. J. Brad McDavid
Fight Song: "Bow Down to Washington"
Today's Bowl Game: Boise State at the Maaco Bowl Las Vegas, 12:30 p.m.

The Husky Marching Band is credited, for better or for worse, with inventing The Wave in 1981.

Pre-game show:



Because the world just can't seem to get enough of this one:



Tequila!

I'm with the Band: Toledo

Band: Rocket Marching Band
University: University of Toledo
Today's Bowl Game: Utah State at the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, 4:30 p.m., Boise, Idaho

Photo via The University of Toledo

A Halloween show:



Awesome drumline performance:

I'm with the Band: Navy

Band: United States Naval Academy Band
University: United States Naval Academy
Founded: 1852
Current Director: Lt. Cmdr. Bruce A. McDonald
Fight Song: "Anchors Aweigh"
Today's Game: Army, 3 p.m., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Just hit "play." Trust me.



As I wrote in last year's post about Army, the academy bands are not like other college bands.  The performers are all professional musicians and all are full-time military personnel.  Therefore, it is no surprise that they're a cut above the ordinary.

The marching band is one of many ensembles who perform under the umbrella of the Academy Band.  The piece above is performed by the concert band.  I am intimately acquainted with the original choral arrangement.  I think I sang it first as part of an amateur choir in NYC.  It is one of those truly magical songs - an absolute privilege to sing.

The following clip is charming for completely different reasons.  It is the original recording of Navy's fight song by the USNA Band of 1920.



It would be wrong not to include at least one video of the band marching.  This is the military we're talking about after all:



The Army-Navy football game was of great national interest once upon a time.  While the luster has dulled for the general public, it's still a very big deal within the military.  I quote Brent Musburger, who did the play-by-play for the game in 1995 (as recounted in John Feinstein's A Civil War): "There is no bowl game at stake here.  There is no coalition poll, no number one ranking.  No Heisman Trophy is at stake either.  This is bigger than all of that."

I have written about the game before.  In addition to last year's Army band post, linked above:

Army-Navy 2010
On the Coffee Table: A Civil War

I'm with the Band: Kansas State

Band: Kansas State University Marching Band
University: Kansas State University
Founded: 1887
Current Director: Dr. Frank Tracz
Fight Song: "Wildcat Victory"
Today's Home Game: Texas, 7 p.m.

Image via Wikipedia

A promotional video:



This clip is from a rehearsal, but very nicely shot:



A very thorough pre-game:

I'm with the Band: Florida State

Band: Marching Chiefs
University: Florida State University
Founded: 1939
Current Director: Patrick Dunnigan
Fight Song: "FSU Fight Song"
Today's Home Game: Florida, 3:30 p.m.

Photo via Twitter

I won't pretend that I'm entirely comfortable with all of the Native American imagery and symbolism used in American sports and the Tomahawk Chop - made famous by the Atlanta Braves but originated at Florida State - is certainly among the more problematic.  That said, from a purely musical/theatrical standpoint, "Seminole Uprising" is awesome:



A well-established theme in this series, I love it when a band sings.  The song "Hymn of the Garnet and Gold" has a nice story.  The university solicited submissions for a school alma mater and "The Hymn" was among those not accepted.  The marching band, though, has claimed it as its own.  The following clip, with band and fans singing together, is truly lovely:

I'm with the Band: Penn State

Band: Penn State Blue Band
University: Pennsylvania State University
Founded: 1899
Current Director: O. Richard Bundy
Fight Song: "Fight On, State"
Today's Home Game: Indiana, 12 p.m.

There's no getting around the fact that it's been a horrible year in State College.  I won't dwell on it too much because this post really is about the band.  State College is near and dear to my heart as my family has spent a decent portion of the summer months in the area for over 30 years.  Without question, football has reached a dangerous level of importance in that community.  The same can be said in plenty of other American college towns: Tuscaloosa, Alabama; Lincoln, Nebraska; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Austin, Texas; Gainesville, Florida and so forth.  What happened at Penn State is the most terrifying example of what can transpire in such a state of affairs. 

Thank goodness, there is life beyond football.  There are students, faculty, staff and town residents who are not fans of the team.  Many people associated with the community are every bit as disgusted by what has happened as the rest of the country at-large. They know all too well that the entire institution has been painted with the same brush.  It will take a long time for the university to recover.  Let it be a meaningful cautionary tale to the rest of the nation as well.

Penn State loves the Blue Band.  As the university community recovers from the trauma of the Sandusky crimes and their fallout, highlighting the more positive aspects of college football culture will be important.

Image via Penn State Blue Band

The tailgate show:



"Defying Gravity":

I'm with the Band: Alabama

Band: Million Dollar Band
University: The University of Alabama
Founded: 1912
Current Director: Dr. Kenneth Ozzello
Fight Song: "Yea Alabama"
Today's Home Game: Texas A&M, 2:30 p.m.

This year mark's the Million Dollar Band's 100th anniversary.  The following promotional video is very nicely done, especially fun for all of the old footage:



It's my blog so I get to indulge my inner geek, right?  The following videos are of the same song but filmed from two different sections of the band.  Green Day's "Basket Case":

I'm with the Band: Auburn

Band: Auburn University Marching Band
University: Auburn University
Founded: 1897
Director: Dr. Corey Spurlin
Fight Songs: "War Eagle" and "Glory to Ole Auburn"
Today's Home Game: New Mexico State at 11:30 a.m.

Photo via Auburn

Pre-game, outside the stadium:



2010 SEC Championship Pre-Game:

I'm with the Band: Western Carolina

Band: Catamount Marching Band
University: Western Carolina University
Founded: 1938
Current Director: David Starnes
Fight Song: "Fight on! You Catamounts"
Today's Home Game: Appalachian State, 3:30 p.m.

If Michigan is the Beatles and Florida A&M is James Brown, then Western Carolina is Frank Zappa.  No marching band in America is as far-out wacky as WCU's Pride of the Mountains, challenging every convention of the idiom one Saturday at a time.  Here's a promotional video for an overview:



Leave all expectations at the door.  Sit back and enjoy:



I love it when a band sings:



Drumline awesomeness:



Finally, a bit of fun:

I'm with the Band: Texas A&M

Band: Fightin' Texas Aggie Band
University: Texas A&M University
Founded: 1894
Current Director: Dr. Timothy B. Rhea
Today's Home Game: LSU, 11 a.m.

Photo via Texas A&M

Texas A&M has been a Senior Military College since its founding in 1871, meaning it provides certified military officer training.  While serving in the Corps of Cadets has been optional since 1960, the organization is still a major force in the culture of the university, not least for the marching band which performs in military dress.  As such, it is the world's largest military marching band.  They're as straight-laced as one would expect a military band to be.  No "Thriller" dance from this outfit.




This halftime show clip takes a little while to get going but what amuses me about it - and every other I found for A&M - is the fact that the crowd says the intro along with the PA announcer.  Apparently regimentation runs very deep indeed.  They do actually start playing at 1:43.  There's no denying it: those formations are tight!



The following clip isn't really about the band but is an absolute gem for demonstrating A&M's proud traditions (not to mention the pejorative view of Asians in America in the 1940s):

I'm with the Band: Arkansas

Band: Razorback Marching Band
University: University of Arkansas
Founded: 1874
Current Director: Dr. Christopher Knighten
Fight Song: "Arkansas Fight"
Today's Home Game: Kentucky, 6 p.m.

Photo via Arkansas Alumni Online Community

The band enters the stadium:



The following video sounds like a joke but it definitely isn't.  It's quite wonderful, in fact.



So, often we tend to pigeon-hole kids - jocks, band geeks and so forth.  And let's be honest: we tend to be particularly dismissive of star athletes as one-trick ponies.  As a teacher, though, I'm always impressed to see the students who somehow manage to be good at everything.  Talent and work ethic are highly transferable assets.  There are probably plenty of Arkansas band members with high school athletic resumes, too. 

Finally, "Arkansas Fight" from a pep rally:

I'm with the Band: Texas Tech

Band: Goin' Band from Raiderland
University: Texas Tech University
Founded: 1923
Current Co-Directors: Dr. Keith Dye and Duane Hill
Fight Song: "Fight, Raiders, Fight"
Today's Home Game: Oklahoma, 2:30 pm

They are called the Goin' Band because they were the first college band to travel to an away game - they're goin', you see, rather than stayin'.

Photo via Lubbock Online

The band plays the Tech alma mater - "The Matador Song":



The drumline performs "ZIT 60":



"Fight, Raiders, Fight":

I'm with the Band: Georgia

Band: Georgia Redcoat Marching Band
University: University of Georgia
Founded: 1905
Current Director: Dr. Michael C. Robinson
Fight Song: "Hail to Georgia"
Today's Home Game: Tennessee, 3:30 p.m.

Photo via ajc

The band's signature number, "Battle Hymn of the Bulldawg Nation."  Listen for the awesome tuba part:



The band enters the stadium with style:



A drumline performance:



"Hail to Georgia":

I'm with the Band: West Virginia

Band: West Virginia University Mountaineer Marching Band
University: West Virginia University
Founded: 1901
Current Director: Dearl "Jay" Drury
Fight Songs: "Hail West Virginia" and "Fight Mountaineers"
Today's Home Game: Maryland, 12:00 p.m.

Image via Twitter

I offer a few staples from the band's pre-game show.  First, the hauntingly beautiful "Simple Gifts":



Formation of the State:



"Hail West Virginia":

I'm with the Band: Purdue

Band: Purdue "All-American" Marching Band
University: Purdue University
Founded: 1886
Current Director: Jay Gephart
Fight Song: "Hail Purdue"
Today's Home Game: Eastern Michigan, 12 p.m.

Photo via Purdue

Purdue's band started out as just a five-man drumline and stands today at 373 strong.  Purdue claims to be the first band to form block letters on the field.

Halftime 11/19/11:



"Hail Purdue:"



They also claim to possess the world's largest bass drum (a common claim among the nation's marching bands, I have found).

Photo via Purdue

In addition to all of the usual football duties, Purdue has also been the host band of the Indy 500 every year since the race began in 1927.

Purdue allows me a wonderful seque.  The most famous alum of the band is none other than astronaut Neil Armstrong, who played euphonium for the AAMB in 1952.  Armstrong passed away last month, a true American hero if ever there were one.  I always figured he had the ultimate one-up retort at parties.  First man on the moon trumps pretty much any other life accomplishment one could claim.

Photo via AeroSpaceGuide

Understandably, the band takes great pride in its association with Armstrong:

Purdue 'All-American" Marching Band pays tribute to Neil Armstrong

I'm with the Band: UMass

Band: University of Massachusetts Minutemen Marching Band
University: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Founded: 1935
Fight Song: "Fight Mass"
Current Director: Dr. Timothy Anderson
Today's Home Game: Indiana, 3:30 p.m.

Image via Wikipedia

You've gotta love Tchaikovsky. I got chills when the voices came in for this one. I'm a sucker for Russian choral music. "1812 Overture":



UMass is rightly renowned for it's drumline.  This is pretty hot:



Finally, "Fight Mass":

I'm with the Band: James Madison

Band: The Marching Royal Dukes
University: James Madison University
Founded: 1972
Current Director: Scott Rikkers
Today's Home Game: St. Francis (PA), 6 p.m.

Photo via James Madison University

The Marching Royal Dukes are the largest college marching band in the country with 500 members.  In addition to football games, they have also marched in Presidential inaugural parades, NFL playoff games and the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

The following video is from a rehearsal, thus the sparse crowd.  It is well shot nonetheless and gives a very clear demonstration of the group's abilities.  "Bat Out of Hell":