In response to comments about hockey pep bands, particualry
Wisconsin and MTU.  At last year's WCHA Final Five, I was impressed by the
Tech band -- they were clearly having a ball, cheering and playing with a
lot of heart.  They were also full of funny chants and jabs at the
opposition.  They reminded me a lot of the Harvard band (which I was in in
undergrad) -- no in-your-face brass section like a "marching band", but a
riled-up hockey band that has a great time at games.  The Wisconsin
"Varsity" Band, on the other hand, is more like its marching cousin.
They're more likely to be pumping out a brassy "On Wisconsin" than calling
a goalie a black hole or playing a Talking Heads song.  They certainly
sound good doing it, tho.  Two very different styles... I like them both,
although I'm naturally partial to Tech and Harvard's style from my
undergraduate experiences.
        One of the down sides of the big distances between WCHA teams is
that we never see an opposing band at regular-season games, so I haven't
heard many other bands.  If it's not sacreligious for me to say so, I do
think that the Gopher band does what they do pretty well.   The worst band
I've heard in all the time I've watched NCAA puck was Lake State, several
years back.
        All IMHO, of course.
 
        Drop the puck!
 
 
-===-John R. [log in to unmask] Chem. Dept-===-