On 9/25, Kurt Jaeger wrote:
 
>RPI certainly has a VERY strong pep band tradition.  I remember them from as
>ocupying a platform with a band shell behind the RPI goal.  From there they
>managed to fill the entire 5000 seat Huston Field House.  They weren't
>particularly musical but they were sure enthusiatic.  Their motto then, as now,
>was "LOUD IS GOOD!".
>
I won't dispute that the RPI pep band is enthusiastic, but a big problem
with the RPI pep band is that they forget that they are a side event to the
hockey game and should complement the game and the crowd and not distract
from it.  I had season tickets during my student years and have faithfully
attended many games since then, and my opinion has not changed over the
years.  Why the pep band insists on playing "Rock Around the Clock" or
"Theme from Hawaii Five-O" just as the crowd is starting to gain strength
with a "Let's Go Red" cheer is beyond me.
 
Enthusiastic and loud, I'll agree to that.  I'll also give the members a
lot of credit for the sacrifice in time and money to travel to all of the
away games (as a former announcer I know that you don't live too well on
$40 per night for hotels and $5/day/person for food, and that as much fun
as it is, it can get to be a drag after a while).  But they are not in any
way consistently helpful in rousing the fans or keeping the fans going with
their own cheers.  I'll add that other teams pep bands do a much better job
of working the crowd than the RPI pep band.
 
Hopefully we haven't beaten this pep band topic to death yet.
 
-Ken Johnson
RPI '87
 
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