Want say in marching band half time shows?

Upbeat hip-hop, something that you would want to dance to.

Instead of marching in the T formation, why not mix it up for each game, so the band spells out TEXAS for the first 5 home games.

I also like the casual look (shorts and ball caps) better than the standard uniform for the summer months.
 
Three biggest influences contributing to decline of LHB:

1. DCI (Drum Corps International) – That’s what all the high schools are emulating. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve been a DCI fan longer than half the posters on here have been alive, but I enjoy in for what it is. Drum corps is not marching band; it’s summer band camp on HGH. It’s a bunch of 19 to 21 year old super band geeks who don’t have a life outside of band desperately clinging to their last few years of marching band (not that there’s anything wrong with that). DCI is to marching band what William Shatner is to acting. I enjoy it in small doses, but don’t consider it to the highest art form to which all others should aspire. If fact, most others consider it too dorky to appreciate.

2. Poor Director Hires – Last couple of director hires show a pattern of selecting folk who either don’t know, or don’t give a hoot about UT and LHB history.

3. Crappy dime store quality hats.

One crotchety old man's opinion.
 
I'll tell you what to do.

First of all, if he's still alive, go get Randy Bass. Ask him what kind of formations his arrangements should go with.

Second, go back and watch the video of the Texas-Penn State game in Giants Stadium. It was either 1983 or 1984. I was watching the game on TV, the announcers were talking during halftime, and all of a sudden the announcers were completely drowned out by ..... THE FIRST NOTE OF GRIEG MEDLEY. Boy that was when the LHB dominated a halftime!!!

2. Play one Randy Bass arranged tune in each of your shows.


No amoebas, but plenty of sharp turns "freeze turns", we used to call them. Think shapes, as in diamonds, rectangles, STRAIGHT LINES, etc.

Dynamics, have the band march away from the home side when the music is to be played softer, that way you don't have to worry about getting soft.

Low brass, PLAY STRONG. The last time I heard LHB in person was the Cotton Bowl against LSU(2002?). I wondered when someone was going to turn up the radio on the other side of the field that was imitating the LHB I remembered. It never happened. They never played strong.
LSU band kicked your a**.

wow, it just clicked, Randy Bass and Glenn Richter were both SOBs? somebody correct me if I'm wrong on that one. Maybe we need to hire an SOB to direct?

That is all.
 
As an LHB alum from DiNino's era I wanted to add that the tempo of both the Eyes and The Star Spangled Banner are waaaay too slow. When DiNino has been a guest conductor recently, I've noticed that he has slowed down the tempo, but he must be pushing 90 so I figure that is as fast as he can waive his arms nowadays. Back in the day, however, he hated those songs to be slow. I recall him cutting us off once during practice and yelling (paraphrasing) "WE WON THE DAMN WAR. DON'T PLAY LIKE WE LOST!" When I hear Eyes or the national anthem now, I think we are about to watch a bowling tournament or a sailing regatta, rather than a football game.

I also want to second the comments here about the stubby, shiny flags. They are every bit as bush league as spats and feather dusters sticking out of hats. At least the drum major hasn't been been forced to do high kicks down the field at the opening of the show.

On the bright side, the LHB still has a good sound and is keeping straight diagonals, at least when they aren't marching curly-ques. The LHB was the first to march the weaving diagonal patterns down the field (the pattern that the aggy band does every week now). We marched it playing Patton no less. Does aggy so own that style that the LHB can't do it, or something similar, without fear of looking like aggy?
 
I love love love Randy Bass arrangements.

Goddam it, it's so simple. When we say we want "traditional shows", it doesn't mean we want wall to wall or script exclusively. What we want is that old LHB TRADITION to be returned to us. The style of show, the selection of music and the type of marching had a different feel than the stuff that the LHB is doing nowadays. The old shows -- the ones from the 60s, 70s and early 80s -- felt like FOOTBALL.

If you can't understand the difference, I think it's because you don't want to understand the difference.
 
The problem with half time shows is that everyone has their own opinion of what is "right" and and anything that deviates from that notion is wrong.

Props though to the handful of people that are actually throwing out ideas on this post instead of those that sit back and say "no, that sucks."
 
I am getting into this conversation when it is has pretty much been talked to death. I agree completely with Texanne et al. about the current state of LHB and high school bands. I don't know what DCI is but if that is what led to the current style of half time shows then I hate it.

At least with LHB we get a new show every time. I have been attedning Westlake football games for the last 12 years and high school halftimes are now the pits. Everything is about prepping for contests so every show is the same and it is usually some classical music crap with horrendous marking designs-curvy shapeless lines, marching backwards etc. It is also hillarious how they take 5 minutes to set up because they have to bring out the xylophones (sp?) keyboards, maybe electric guitar etc.
I see the same thing from every other HS. When I played for Memorial Hgh in the early 70"s we played a completely different show for each home game. I would hate to be in a HS band now doing the same music and show since August 1 practice, doing it for every football game and going to 3 or 4 contests on Saturdays during the fall.

Color me an old fart I guess.
 
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