Pride of the Southland

#2
#2
I could live with the band's smaller size if the musical selection was a bit better.

The Thriller performance at Halloween 2yrs ago was awesome but otherwise they've been kinda blah lately. Same goes for the dj that runs the PA system at the stadium.
 
#5
#5
Yankee_Vol said:
Funding perhaps?
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maybe but doubtful. The schollies to band members that get them are usually music majors and that's thru the school, not the athletic dept.

The AD funds the band going on away games and maybe a few things on game day (my guess is cokes, etc...) but even cutting those funds back wouldnt equate to a loss of members.

My guess its something to do with Sousa but younger POTSB members would have to weight in on that
 
#6
#6
I don't know, but Alabama and Notre Dame have much bigger and --consequently-- louder bands. It's a shame IMO. It can be hard to hear the POTSMB.
 
#7
#7
Its part members and part selection. Listen to other sec bands and you will hear more songs inbetween downs and at least those songs pump you up... our band conveys almost NO crowd participation. Its utterly sad.
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#8
#8
I would suggest, but cannot confirm, that overall funding is a major part of the problem. Bredesen was no friend of our flagship university. For a land grant university, UT's tuition has been increasing at a disproportionately fast rate; it used to be an exceptional value, compared to peer institutions, but that is no longer the case. Being a largely independent entity, funding for the Athletic Department has not suffered to anywhere near the same degree.
 
#12
#12
GreveHaller said:
maybe but doubtful. The schollies to band members that get them are usually music majors and that's thru the school, not the athletic dept.

The AD funds the band going on away games and maybe a few things on game day (my guess is cokes, etc...) but even cutting those funds back wouldnt equate to a loss of members.

My guess its something to do with Sousa but younger POTSB members would have to weight in on that
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You've hit the nail on the head with the Sousa comment. I am a second year member of the POTSB and the problem really is Sousa. When i was in High School he didn't really care enough to come hear us, but rather just waited for audition dates for us to come to him. If you're ever around a decent HS Band program, you'll see that many University directors will come "recruit" musicians as well as send in their assistant directors to do workshops with the entire HS's band in hopes of finding more talent. My senior year involved one visit from Dr. Stanley, who is an assistant director of bands at UTK, but other than that Sousa never really shows his face in public, at least in many people's cases in the band. I personally would support a FireSousanow.com
 
#15
#15
Escape Goat said:
More and more are of Chinese decent?
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Chinese folks are pretty decent, but I think you meant descent.


As to the smaller size of the band, I hear there's been an influx of Pygmy immigrants to the Knoxville area lately.
 
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#17
#17
It's not. I'll be in it next year and it's still gonna have around 300. Spring game was voluntary
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#18
#18
nickid1965 said:
Can some of you better informed explain why our band seems to be getting smaller every year.
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I've been arguing this topic for 2yrs now. Look on youtube at the videos of our band back in the late 90's-2006 of how big and loud it was. We have shamefully decreased the band size every year since 2006. If u want proof, look at the videos from then to now and u can actually count less members each year leading up to 2010. Some may not cherish having a big and loud band, but it is a huge asset to our program. We have taken a back seat to at least 7 SEC bands and not to mention...N.Carolina put us to shame this year at the music city contest.
 
#19
#19
turnuptheVOLtage said:
Its part members and part selection. Listen to other sec bands and you will hear more songs inbetween downs and at least those songs pump you up... our band conveys almost NO crowd participation. Its utterly sad.
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The music they play caters to the majority of ticket buyers... Not bad from a business sense. It doesn't do much to get the rest of the crowd or the players pumped up, but who really cares about that. More Journey, Pat Benetar and golden oldies music... :popcorn:


Less of this...

Ohio Marching Band - UT VOLS vs. OHIO - September 26, 2009
 
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#20
#20
HardKnoxVol said:
It's not. I'll be in it next year and it's still gonna have around 300. Spring game was voluntary
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If you are in the band or gonna be...hats off to you. We appreciate what u do and the honor you guys give this university. However, u and every other member should seriously light a fire under your directors to try and push for more members. You guys are awesome, but when other schools have 80-100 more performers, it makes the hard work you guys do go unnoticed to other programs. With the money and tradition we have here at UT, there is no reason we cannot suit as many as bama,LSU,Florida, UGA,S.CAROLINA,AUBURN,ETC.
 
#21
#21
Serious lack of recruiting in the high school band programs! This is due to lack of direction & commitment from both the School of Music and the band staff. Athletic Dept. has also cut way back on its support...witness the game at Vandy last season when only a paltry pep band showed up.
 
#22
#22
#23
#23
feathersax said:
Serious lack of recruiting in the high school band programs! This is due to lack of direction & commitment from both the School of Music and the band staff. Athletic Dept. has also cut way back on its support...witness the game at Vandy last season when only a paltry pep band showed up.
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Thanks, Hammy.
 
#24
#24
feathersax said:
Serious lack of recruiting in the high school band programs! This is due to lack of direction & commitment from both the School of Music and the band staff. Athletic Dept. has also cut way back on its support...witness the game at Vandy last season when only a paltry pep band showed up.
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The UTAD has always only funded sending the full band to two away games per season. The Music department used to use private donations to send the full band to other games. They choose to use them for other things now.

The financial support from the UTAD has actually increased over the last four years, not decreased as you stated. There are more scholarship dollars for the band from the UTAD now than there were two years ago. How the band chooses to divvy them up, I don't know, but the contribution has grown and will continue to grow.
 
#25
#25
turnuptheVOLtage said:
Its part members and part selection. Listen to other sec bands and you will hear more songs inbetween downs and at least those songs pump you up... our band conveys almost NO crowd participation. Its utterly sad.
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I wish we had a band.
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