vs Tennessee State

[sealhall74]

For years I have had the opportunity to attend a basketball game at Mackey Arena.  And for years I have walked away with tunes such as Frankenstein and the Horse, repeating them over and over.  Its a Big 10 show and thats what it is, a "show!"  And I love the show.  My wife and I were planning on being in the crowd yesterday but her hip has been bothering her and I did the "husbandly" thing.  We watched both games on ESPN+ with mass at 4:00 to boot.  I was cutting onion for chili and low and behold, the WIU pep band is playing the "Horse!"  Not sure what else was played last night, but holy cow, the pep band is rocking it for Rocky this year and it makes me wish I could go back to the Hall!  

Scott, can you fill me in on what happened yesterday ala pep band music experience.  I am sure that something is going on now with the band and pom's and cheers all working together for a great experience.  Also, I think we were 6th place winners in the Metalica competition, when are we going to make a big deal out of that.  All I can say is, wellllllll done.  It fun again to be a Neck!!!!  jc


 

Concerted effort by the athletics department and band to bring a new kind of "energy" to the games. From the band perspective, we had a 2-hour rehearsal last Thursday night to go over about a dozen new songs, most of which were played during the games on Saturday. Specifically, some of the songs have a bit more "oomph" to them and we've also been practicing moving to the left side of the stands and aiming the sound specifically right into the visiting team's huddle during late-game TO's to make it much harder to hear/concentrate. Some of the songs we've been told to play loud and semi-obnoxious...kinda like a HBCU band.

Frankenstein and Horse were two of the new ones. There's a couple of Bruno Mars songs that the marching band played last fall during the season. There's also a few that are adapted from other bands/groups like...

"Swag" (it's an Ohio State song):


"Beast" (from the 2018 Carolina Crown Drum and Bugle Corps show...it's around 1:38 to around 2:20 of the following video):


Also, "Still Fly" (based on the Southern University version)

 

 

I was at the game.  Pep band rocked for sure.  Just wondering.  Do you guys get fatigued by having to work both games without much time off between? Or is the adrenaline pump kicked in enough to keep you going?  

[ST_Lawson]

I was at the game.  Pep band rocked for sure.  Just wondering.  Do you guys get fatigued by having to work both games without much time off between? Or is the adrenaline pump kicked in enough to keep you going? 
 

Doing a two-game double-header is more exhausting than running a 5k (for me, anyway). Playing loud (or high...or both) requires a lot of air, and moving that much air requires using your ab muscles to push it out faster. Also, playing higher notes on a brass instrument requires you to tighten up the sides of your mouth to focus the air through the horn, but those muscles can get fatigued as well. Second half of the men's game, I think I was losing as much air out the sides of my mouth as was going into the trombone. Adrenaline helps, but yes, it's quite a workout.

If I remember, next time we do a double-header, I'll try to wear my heart rate monitor and run my garmin watch to record what my level of effort is.