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There's an obvious explanation for that. Most middle school bands are not performing drunk.

... not the cool ones.

The Stanford band is what happens when "Lord of the Flies" meets dorky trust fund kids. I think their comedy can be pretty funny, and I'm all about giving aspects of the college game over to the students. When schools/athletic departments take absolute control of everything, it gets pretty lame. I begrudgingly admire the spirit of the Stanford band. With that being said, the Stanford band sucks ... and every time they take the field, I secretly pray for the opposing team to run them over again.

While I am no fan of Stanford's band, I do kind of dig what they represent: anti-authority, anti-tradition, "comedy," etc. What I do not dig at all is what they also represent: anti-achievement, anti-basic proficiency, etc. I don't mind that they're controversial, take cheap shots at opposition (the Iowa thing, jabs they've taken to Notre Dame over the years, USC and Cal jabs, etc) or do stuff to have fun. I wish they backed their psuedo-anarchic demeanor by performing better. I wonder what Stanford students/alum think of the band: fun, embarrassing, somewhere in between?

I can only imagine what Cavalier jolly rancher games are.

I was born, raised, and currently still live in an area which can commonly be referred to as being "cow country." Though not being a farm boy in my youth, a large majority of my friends in my formative years were exactly that -- farm boys. I happened to watch yesterday's game with a number of my past and current friends -- many of which were either farm boys in their youth or currently farm as an occupation. Let me assure you -- there was no greater amount of laughter than that which came from those farm-associated mouths. They saw it for what it was...a gentle, harmless needling relating to an opponent. I would suggest that there very well could have been far more offensive and egregious things said on the field of play by some of the players than what was exhibited at halftime. But in a heavily sports-addicted society, things such as trash talking, posturing, taunting, and other forms of "unsportsmanlike" behavior on the parts of the athlete have not only become somewhat the norm, but socially accepted as well, all without broad-based societal outcries for the offenders to be "fired." Hypocrisy reigneth.

Yeah, nice try. I'm guessing you also haven't experience the Stanford band live. The Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is borne out the respect that each side has for the other, that goes back decades. The back-and-forth between the two schools is good natured and everybody knows it. I say this as a Michigan alumnus. There really is no comparison between that and the humorless childish nonsense (and horrible playing) foisted upon a captive audience by the Stanford band. Did you read the post by the Oklahoma band director? Do you think for one second that the OSU or Michigan bands would even think about encircling the others' director and drum major and bleating endlessly for 15 minutes? Never. I'm sure the OJ Simpson parody the Standford band did at a USC game was hilarious. Right. The Stanford band gets attention, for all the wrong reasons. And their antics reflect exactly on the narcissitsic nature of these spoiled immature children.....as well as the middle aged stoners that also apparently are a part of the band, from my personal observations.

One of the most influential corps of that period was the Cavaliers. They had a system for teaching technique which pretty much kick started the trend towards setting much higher standards for basic skills in marching and brass. They already had a very solid percussion plan in place. When you watch them, see if you can recognize any technical differences vis a vis the other corps. This was the beginning of a period wherein the Mid-west and eventually the West began to wrest all the titles away from the Eastern corps who had monopolized the activity for so long.

The diff there, however, is VK could actually PLAY!

just to play devils advocate, we had VK where the bull beat the matador, then lifted it's leg and relieved itself on the fallen matador. but we find that funny

I agree 100%. If they at least sounded good, some of the rest might be more forgivable.

Explicit, expeditious updates from DCI?! bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

I believe the show is at a high school near Frederick.

Yep, but there are middle school bands that, in terms of simple musical proficiency, would leave Stanford in the dust.

We could pull spectators at random from the stadium, hand them a kazoo, noise maker, etc., and they could blend right in with the Stanford band with minimal rehearsal. Some times, I laugh with that band's satire....too often, I cringe at the chaos.

Edited by yonnenana, 29 September 2015 - 03:32 PM. Thanks for the memories yonnenana. Huge hugs to you!

I've seen countless marching band halftime routines on television over the decades, and I'll say this for Stanford...They're memorable.

Do the same people that think the Stanford band's antics are disrespectful think the Cavaliers and their jolly rancher games are disrespectful? just curious.

My issue with the Stanford band is their obviously putrid playing....irregardless of their attempts at humor.

Complete with "Strawberry Soup?"

And what do you mean by "national admirers" and "lots of people seem to like and enjoy their campy style"? What people? Ex-Stanford band members? Look, if you're a student at Stanford, you've already won the lottery. You're the cream of the crop, the elite. So why the university allows this infantile behavior to continue is beyond me. It's not campy, it's not satire. Those things would require some creativity. No, a performance like this is something a middle schooler would come up with. There's not creativity to it, it's gutter immaturity on a national stage, by a bunch of elite little children who know they are better than you, and will be your boss someday. They are arrogant fools. And ESPN saw it coming and cut them off. That was the best part.

Lighten up, Francis. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Class is sometimes overrated.

The Iowa fans were NOT boooing...they were BLOOOOing....

Here's my verdict: I respect the Stanford Band and its members; however, I'm just not a fan of scramble/scatter bands in general. IMO, they just come off as tacky at many of their appearances. Consider the fact that the Stanford Band has played in 3 of the past 4 Rose Bowl Parades. They bewilder TV announcers every time. And the Stanford Band has no director, per se. It is entirely student-run. So if the students are under fire, there won't be any pressure placed on the director because there simply is no director. I do have one question: Why do we criticize the Stanford Band members for being classless and disrespectful when we see halftime shows that make fun of their rivals time and time again? (For example, Ohio State's antics against Michigan among others, and Michigan's "Script Ohno").

Eh I think people are making too big of a deal about it. Gotta have fun sometimes. Military style bands can get boring. I think of drum corps as a serious affair while college marching bands to be more of a fun thing.

...and tell me, what drum corps on the planet announces the individuals that are under contract on an ongoing basis on a public website? Why do you need to know? I would think that personal privacy issues would be one thing keeping anyone from doing it. I will tell you this, my son is one of those that are under contract and he, as well as his mother and father, couldn't be more happy and proud. Speaking from a family that has intimate knowledge of the corps in the 80's and 90's as marching members and staff members as well as being life long friends with a great many of the current staff, board and administration I can, with all honesty and sincerity, say that we feel he couldn't be in better hands. That should be enough. The general public and outside nay sayers can and will say and feel what they want regardless of the actual facts...soooooooo... ...I say again, why do you care? Dan

We get it. You hate George. You like to criticize posters spelling, grammar, choice of words, etc. while exempting yourself from the same criticism. You like to add details and thoughts to your posts to prove who you know, or how you've contributed more than what seems like anybody to the activity. Give it a rest.

WHAT?!?!?!!

Q: What website would you NOT visit to hear a drum corps play? A: dci.org Strange, ain't it?

Edits on the shows are absolutely seamless. Almost missed them in BKs show until I watched an original on YouTube. Speaking of that show. Wow, I hope they keep moving in the direction they took in 2014. It's absolutely fantastic.

Jeebus, I don't know about any of the rest of you, but this thing just kicks my A**. Visualizing the pit's technique as they *pling* those opening notes. Feeling the thunderous bass drums on the sidelines to open that incredible, strong, historical theme with a low brass bone-rattling. Feeling the air continuously sucked out of the room as it ends on the off-pulse...beat....three....... AAAACCCKKIK!!!!! Gasp for breath... OMG, what an incredibly strong piece of music. I can only hope that the corps that gets to license this brilliance will do it justice. I originally thought Phantom could only do it justice, then I heard Crown's sustain brilliance with perfect pitch and tone dragging the last ounce of oxygen out of the room... Then, gasp, I began to think. To tip the hat back to Williams in appreciation of letting a drum corps do an epic show in honor of his epic music in this career-making movie legacy, who would be best in the position to do the music justice? Blue Devils.

Exactly....when those Bb horns are played in tune with proper support, pushing a bunch of air, and the chords are balanced, the cumulative impact is more than loud enough to impress.

in this day of youtube...get clearances