UTAD cutting band funding/involvement? (Merged)

#301
#301
teamdeke said:
The band, along with the student section has had years to come together and make the gameday experience more envious to recruits. They failed. Trying Plan B but not completely erasing Plan A.
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This is such a stupid statement. It's suppose to work the other way around. This IS Tennessee and this how we roll. We should always highlight our traditions and that should attract the right kind of recruit.

I agree that the band needs to change but the issue is Sousa, not the Pride itself.
 
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#302
#302
PotS said:
Oh man, the Kenny Rogers fiasco... The rehearsals were actually WORSE than the game day performance. I was embarrassed to be on the field that day. He's had so much plastic surgery, I didn't even recognize the guy, and I used to watch The Gambler at my grandma's house like every day during the summer.

Deana Carter was, what, 2006? Didn't she sing Fannie? But yes, I recall it being barely audible from the stands.

You could hear the trumpet player on the CBS broadcast. Sounded nasty. We had trumpet player from Maynard Ferguson come while I was there, and he was just screaming high notes all over the place. It was awful. All the trumpet players thought it was great, but that was it.

The days when the bagpipe crews showed up were always good shows, too.
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Speaking of Kenny Rogers, he and Dolly Parton are going to have some kind of reunion or something.. man oh man, both of them have had so much plastic surgery, we won't recognize either of them... back to ole Kenny, when we were nearing campus, on Cumberland, my husband remarked about the man jogging, it was ole Kenny.. The trumpet player Saturday hit some sour notes but he was trying.. :whistling:
The bagpipes were one of my favorites.. we are donors and supporters of the Pride so I try to not be too bad critical..
 
#304
#304
HardKnoxVol said:
You guys need to chill out. It's not as big of a deal as you think. Sousa has been quarreling for years with the athletic department and thinks he can do what he wants, which isn't the case. It's not just us, but other SEC schools as well. All SEC schools are limiting travel to other SEC schools when they play. I didn't go to the UGA game, but someone said that their band wasn't there? This is happening all around the country. Besides, I like having Sterl the Pearl as DJ! It's a marketing scheme and it might actually help in the long run. The recruits now get to hang out with Sterling and others on the field before the game, so it gets them hype and into the atmosphere. Face the change folks. Have a good day :salute:
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Since when do we want to be like "all SEC schools"? That's what separates UT from the rest. You have no idea how great it is to be in the band and take over the opponents' stadium with Rocky Top. It's incredible. Bama's band agrees with their Rammer Jammer. And it pisses off those in Neyland when they do. No excuse to do this.
 
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#306
#306
CHILL OUT!

From DeerPark12
The band will still perform pregame and at halftime and will still play after scores and at various times between plays.

However, the plan to increase the amount of upbeat music played over the speakers at times the band had usually played is absolutely real and is absolutely happening.

Band travel has been cut slowly over the last few years. It's not as simple as "putting the kids on a bus," as one poster suggested. If the band travels, they have to play for hotel rooms and meals/per diem at the normal university rate. 400 band members and staff, even at 4 to a room is 100 hotel rooms.

Let's go on the low end and say each room is $90/night (any of you that have traveled to away games know rooms are MUCH more than this on a game weekend). Even if they only stay one night, that's $9,000 just for rooms. If they leave on Friday afternoon, they have to pay them standard per diem of $22 for dinner Friday, $10 breakfast Saturday, $12 lunch Saturday and $22 dinner Saturday. That's another $66 each, so another $26,400. The band tickets to the road game aren't free. Alabama tickets this year are $75. So there's another $30,000 for tickets. How do they get to the game? That would be seven coach busses,rented for two days with a driver for around $4k each. Another $28k.

So, on the absolute low end, it costs at least $93,400 to take the full band to a road game that they can drive to and only stay one night.
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So, we aren't taking the band out of Neyland. This petition thing is stupid.
.

They will still be at home games, wont play AS MUCH, and wont travel as often, but we really won't notice a lot of difference.

Everybody's freaking out and burning mattresses. Get your facts straight.
 
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#307
#307
whobethis16 said:
Deana Carter sang "The Weight" and "We Danced Anyway". Yes, in 2006. I liked performing with Patti Paige and Bobby Osborne for who they are, but I can see how fans with no idea about their significance would complain.
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Haha, whoops.. Take a load off, Fannie. "The Weight" by the Band. Fannie...The Weight... close..

At some point in my time, we too marched a Lee Greenwood show. Maybe 2004?
 
#308
#308
whobethis16 said:
Since when do we want to be like "all SEC schools"? That's what separates UT from the rest. You have no idea how great it is to be in the band and take over the opponents' stadium with Rocky Top. It's incredible. Bama's band agrees with their Rammer Jammer. And it pisses off those in Neyland when they do. No excuse to do this.
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It's been a while since any UT fan has seen that.
 
#309
#309
The band promoting Living on a Prayer and Neck as "classics" is really swaying me to side with the AD on this one. They desperately need new material...
 
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#310
#310
VolsSportsFan said:
On the one hand, I don't care for a whole lot of piped in music, mainly because it seems every place is turning into the same cookie cutter experience. Almost all the same songs are playing at every game now; for instance I don't know what it's called, but I heard a song piped in on TV for the UT/UGA where it's some bells playing (I think they played it on a 3rd down). I hear that literally at every football game, both college and NFL, on TV now. I honestly don't get why someone would want the exact same experience you can get somewhere else.

On the other hand, it's kind of hard for the band to make an argument when they're fighting to play a song like "Livin' on a Prayer". Come on.....seriously?
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Its called turning everybody a like me.. Take all individuality n tradition away n make everything the same.. Then u have a bunch of sheep n they control everything n the sheep say that's cool because everybody else is doing it.

The media n gov r programming everyone to be a drone n most people r going along with it because they r afraid to be different..

Just look around..lol

Hart suxs n anyone that wants neyland to be like vt with nothing but piped n music is well a sheep.

Win n the money will come.. Its OK to be different volnation n its ok to have tradition n its OK to not let the media control who u should be...

Wow I'm going to get flamed.
 
#311
#311
DC Vol said:
This is an outrage... an outrage ... that they would cut out the proud tradition of the PotSMD playing the theme from Gladiator. That has been a proud and hallowed tradition over the last 5-10 years.

And the Imperial March from Star Wars! That's a uniquely UT tradition also.

These kids don't want to hear more modern music ... they want to hear a theme from a 13 year old movie half of them probably haven't seen and a Bon Jovi song that most probably struggle to even recognize the tune to.

Livin' on a Prayer is a college football institution. It shouldn't go away just like "Born in the USA" shouldn't go away from political rallies. They just fit.
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You're one of my favorite ppl here. lol.

This was some grade A stand up. Let the ppl freak out.

And some "anonymous band guy" send his letter on facebook. I would think if we were really "getting rid" of the band, this would be all over the news and UT wouldve already announced something publicly...

It's probably all a smokescreen for Gruden anyways
 
#312
#312
"Whooah, we're half way there
Livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it - I swear
Livin' on a prayer"​

Yeah, this lame song would really get me hyped to play and compete. If the POTSB wants to be relevant then update your act with better songs and more energy.
 
#313
#313
PotS said:
Haha, whoops.. Take a load off, Fannie. "The Weight" by the Band. Fannie...The Weight... close..

At some point in my time, we too marched a Lee Greenwood show. Maybe 2004?
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I know he's been there a lot. I marched 06-09, so Deana and Patti Paige/Bobby Osborne were the highlight guest artists of my tenure. I, personally, loved the latter, but not as big as CDB or Chesney.
 
#314
#314
105437 said:
"Whooah, we're half way there
Livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it - I swear
Livin' on a prayer"​

Yeah, this lame song would really get me hyped to play and compete. If the POTSB wants to be relevant then update your act with better songs and more energy.
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I said it before, I'll say it again. It's one of the few songs the student section actually got into in the later part of my career in the Pride. And it's about them, the students, right? I mean the uniforms are and everything else.
 
#315
#315
Boca Vol said:
It's been a while since any UT fan has seen that.
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Bad product on the football field. We tried as late as 2009 (2006 UGA was the biggest in my time), but we certainly tried to. Better football team will make that happen. 2007 Florida we did for an extent, especially the Berry pick 6, but there wasn't much chance to. The 2007 SEC championship was great because it had the two best bands in there.
 
#319
#319
RockyTopFox said:
One of my Band friends says it's pretty legit. What a terrible decision and direction for UT football to take.
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Like this affects football in any way. It's sad, but in reality the band is there for fans, not the football team.

If true, I feel bad for the band members who won't get to perform in Neyland. But I think the football program will survive.
 
#320
#320
whobethis16 said:
I said it before, I'll say it again. It's one of the few songs the student section actually got into in the later part of my career in the Pride. And it's about them, the students, right? I mean the uniforms are and everything else.
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Same students who start the freakin' wave when we're on offense! :banghead2:
 
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#321
#321
It sounds like to me things have been made too expensive for trips.....not that they have to be... 22 for dinner? Standard rates? Sounds like to me administration and overhead has been amuck. The tickets thing really should be addressed by SEC, kinda crappy to raise the rates on your visiting bands... But 22 for dinner where they going? Whatever happened to the bus stopping at Taco Bell? What I do notice is the band section keeps getting smaller...sounds like it's because costs are out of control.

In any case I would like to see more modern and upbeat music some in the game.....but have zero confidence that will happen vs a slow country waltz song and some black and white footage. Seriously doubt petition can hurt either way.... let em have their band appreciation thing. I do luv me some Proud of the Southland.
 
#322
#322
None of this really sounds like a big deal to me except the cutting out of "Down The Field".

We don't need a full band at Kentucky. They'll still go to Bama, GA, Florida.
 
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#323
#323
Maybe this will get Sousa and Ryder to piss off and get someone who isn't stuck in the 80s in there.
 
#324
#324
Georgia didn't bring their band on Saturday. Had a "pep band" that I could not hear. Times we live in folks.
 
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#325
#325
vavolunteer said:
4 year Pride alum here. A few thoughts:

1. This is happening. It is about revenue.
2. The director is a moron who has made this course of action all to easy for the AD.
3. While I've never hated on Hart or Cheek much, it is very easy for them to make
decisions like this cuz they aren't Tennessee people.
4. The majority of funding for the marching band scholoarships come from the AD.
5. The band numbers and quality have been down for at least 5 years. This year's
is the best in a while. Still not as good as the glory days though, and it could be.

Solutions:
1. Put a damn winning team on the field. This will solve all revenue problems.
2. Get a damn band director that knows what the hell he is doing. Sousa has been a
joke since the day he was hired. New stand tunes would help for God's sake.
3. Work to teach the newer generation our traditions and why they are important. Work
to show the older generarion why some evolution is needed to remain relevant.
4. Get every booster to raise hell if the band gets minimized or disrespected. It's who:lolabove:
we are, you don't walk away from who we are.
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Well spoken! Amen from this corner! GBO
 
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