PLAYIN’
IN THE
BAND
These heroes of halftime reveal their
traditions and prove there’s more to
marching than meets the eye
Fi inn iIm slands .if halftime.
thrv i<* >k like .in l li 11 -i Ski ll h
In a wave «*l sound and < oloi
i apid patterns Ile x ami flov*
.11 loss I hr in Id llailnii^
batons f 1 \ thtough ih«* an.
v% hi it mg in sn in with bright
flags and die* sound ol I hr hav\ ilium
hut matching hand mriuhi n know
dirtr s mote than patterns and songs dial
luak< llinu tuitcpir \ «I|'Iiik liu bfrnl
I ho lolrialr and rvrn ir\rl in hllilllll.il
ing initiations, gainh umfoimv and
enough m hool spun to provoke nausea
1 hr hands tlcnieanois van as uni< h as
th« ii tvprs of man long stvlrs some
niainlain a traditional appioai li while
oi hrts sj»r« lah/r in dancing and
11 >»11 v wood stv lr thrall ic s \nd dr spile
thru ddlrtrturs. thrv ir a vital pail of
dir pagrantn pomp and t in tlinsiancr
that is «i »llrgr loot ha 11 todav
being in ihr ham! al Stanford l means
mauling and hi aw Impm I hr fir Id
I hr hand m attets from one loimalion
I«> (hr next instead nl man lung and
|m»krs fun al other ImihIs lot thru serious
man hmg stxlrs in one show, the group
f< u inr«I two straight lines passing thiotigh
rath olhei Our hand uietnhri
"at t identaih " biini|H*ci anotliri ant! I hr
mtur hand broke into a fight t otiiplrtr
with swoids and 11^li( sabris until
r\riM»nr was drat! on the field ! alk
about a sweet wax to xrnt hostilitirs,
imagine what it s like to parts with them
"Kind is something to break the dailx
lootine and irliexe the sltrvs of rsrivdav
hie," saxs ( asex < > llaia a senior who
manages Stanfords baud “It’s
something t<> look foiwaid to on
weekends sou get to waste a whole
Satutdax at tailgates anti at the game
\t levas WM I . Ikum! meillhris look
foiwaitl to Saturdays, although one of
then ton titles l mi tie is on the itii|M issihle
Mihtaix piet ision is the kex to the
bant! s stepping stxle. exert when they
|hiform the "un|Hissihle drill" in which
memheis lot in an iturrdlhlx dense
let tangle in the t enter of the field
“We h.i\< luin jKoplr in the umr plai e
.it the miik (HIM lulling Imin «ill 11 n tit
diin turns .it .i lrMlrgi(T .mi'll vivs Rav
loin iliii i tot ol tin hand I hr
t anputri i ouldn I plot the ptogtam, it s
the iK ivui.il iv« and take tli.it a I loses it I
think that s vs In tlies < all it tm}>ovsihlc
\t Hotid.i UM I people altnid
games just to see the hand knovoi loi a
spn lal step i ailed ‘ I In Rattlet " 1 hi
hand gives speed liev% meaning hv
tunning 2H0 steps a minute a little itmie
than lout ste ps a sn mid It s ven
stti tmous. hut vou gel \oiit eneigv front
the toat ol the t towd, ‘ savs Shepito
I latdemon section leadct ol the flag
i or ns ' I he i l<aul makes \ on \s all t to
man hloirvei
Ivring m tlt.il » low*! is awcvmu , 1*m»
vi\s 1 Ills I M .in .1 )umoi at Hoitda \\ M
li s lik.* * oj moiled pandemonium h
l»H»ks ltk« thrv’rr all i mining v* alteimg
lull dies all know r\a* tl\ what thc*\ i<
doing It s wild
\!iri psv* hing up thr * mwd thiough
(oiitiollrd < ha*»s. thr hand is known lot
mmrs that *otdd tuakr |ohn I lavolta
irtifr his dan* tug shoes
“\\ *• do 2 I 2 to three-minute dam r
toutlties. I iai demon sat s *\Vr If.iih
thrm m a ciav, hut it takes a week to have
them |k iIn trd
I hat [h iIn lion is * i u* iai, rsj»rc tails it
the fund is in a movie or on a I\ show
Ilir l «>f Soiithrin ( -altfotina gioup
I lollsw<hk 1 s hatld has |K*ifoinird lot
pi odd* t ions. IIU hiding I hr \ukrti (,un.
Iktagw and / \ Inu
“hoi thr movies you hasr to do take
.ittc i take and that makes loi a long das."
sa\s Stephen ()iti/. inanagn *>! thr hand
~IVtit vou get liv e! to it It s fun intera* ting
with the stats 'Ve doit t do it enough to
get bored."
\nd thrs don't look bored rithei
ham! memhris weal rsristhing fi*»iu
huge fu//v hats to seciuined. metallic
ti mimed jai kets piosidmg foi. it nothing
else*, some fashion amusement.
I he l S( unitorm frailties gold
helmets and a ptofilc* of an an* tent
Bn ALLISON 11ARTSOK, The Post, <>mo l .
1 lojan sill, bed in gold hi aid on the
f.U kets
"We vie w ouim Iu s as gladiators going
into battle." saw \11 Kuincr, dunioi ot
the Kind
\i Punt rton l hand ineiitK t s wear
plaid oi.ingr and hlat k |a« krls and
boaters {straw hats) Members have wont
the K>atrt\ Mine the hand s inception,
and in \\m the* plaid jac krLs wnr a move
away from formality saw Wolf! hnhvm
dull master of the hand
“Ihc woist thing nr do to nr*
mmihris is give them the jackets,
I Kihsoii savs
And ( )hio Stale l s white < loss Kdts
ha\e c aused them trouble at least one r
“It was (juite a less \eais ago, but one
tune an alto hotn player hooked onto
a not he i player s c loss he It dm mg an
( )Sl shim," sass senior hand member
(avail Dotson “He dragged hei all the
vsa\ to the top of the "O" hi the “<)hlo"
lotmatK»n." she saw
Hut complications pioduced by unruly
umtoims c an t c lush what really provides
the hands with a sense of purpose
traditions
hath hand is hioken into instrument
divisions, and often it’s the section
traditions that Kind a gtoup of members.
1 he tuba sec tion undoubtedly is the
cia/iest gtoup in mans bands I heir
Ih Ii.iMMf.tl disoideis ni.1' stem from a
shortage* ol oxvgen to the* hr am ait|uite*d
while playing thr huge* instruments
I he l m! Nebraska tulrus take .1 dav l« •
fw dlflrirnt when thr\ » hmh lows of
stalls with thru instruments and tondut t
y» tn>11 irheaivds at dir top \t Stanford
thr luha plavets paint thr inside of thru
while* libel glass sousaphones with
pit tines \\ hen thr ()hio State* hand
travels, one bus in the* singing bus, le tl b\
the* tnhas
Hut l S< s < >111 /. a six \rai ban
meinlMi, savs Ik*mg a iiiIm plavn isn't at
tun and game s "It happrnrd timing .
\otir Damr show aluml thirr vrais ago,
hr savs "Stir was a shot! woman the
tuba looke d as big as her — but she
man bed as haul as thr big guvs 1 he
wind taught the* top o! the* lx* 11 |of the
sousaphuue) anel threw her bat k She
bat! to struggle out from unelrt the* tuba
and tun to t ah h up "
Hut thru that's par for thr ctmisr lot a
giotip of students that doesn't mind
donning plaid fat krts and Ix ll Ihuioiiis
and “living" mid-performance feu thr
sake of trail 1 lion
"In high vImmiI |K*oplr tiakl, ‘Oh th<»se
band lags, hut 111 lollrgr people think
ve>u’rr a 1 rlebrit\savs ()Sl s Dotson
“When \uii have a I rand jat krt on people
look up to you “