[baymeadows3408]

I really like the Band -- they have so much more personality than most other college bands, a very special and uniquely Stanford part of the athletic picture.

The band that plays for basketball and volleyball is very different from the band that plays for football. If you’ve not traveled to tournaments or Final Four with the band you haven’t seen the band that generally wins the battle of the bands as the best band. They’re great. I love the band and so do our teams.

I like the LSJUMB because they don't submit to the cliches that afflict other marching/pep bands. Their song arrangements maintain the rock and funk fundamentals of the original songs instead of turning them into stilted pseudo-militaristic tunes. They refrain from playing songs like Rock 'n' Roll Part II (popularized by the sex criminal Gary Glitter) or Zombie Nation that every other college band seems to play. The football component of the marching band suffers because Stanford has a small student body and the band basically takes everyone who shows up (instead of the musically gifted). However, I have read accounts from band members about how the band is an emotional refuge for them because it's a place where they can let loose instead of trying to be The Best at everything they do. Students who have been accepted into Stanford have probably been under a lot of pressure to succeed and be elite, but the band is one place where they are allowed to have fun and not worry about meeting some almost impossible standard.

[baymeadows3408]

I really like the Band -- they have so much more personality than most other college bands, a very special and uniquely Stanford part of the athletic picture.

The band that plays for basketball and volleyball is very different from the band that plays for football. If you’ve not traveled to tournaments or Final Four with the band you haven’t seen the band that generally wins the battle of the bands as the best band. They’re great. I love the band and so do our teams.

I like the LSJUMB because they don't submit to the cliches that afflict other marching/pep bands. Their song arrangements maintain the rock and funk fundamentals of the original songs instead of turning them into stilted pseudo-militaristic tunes. They refrain from playing songs like Rock 'n' Roll Part II (popularized by the sex criminal Gary Glitter) or Zombie Nation that every other college band seems to play. The football component of the marching band suffers because Stanford has a small student body and the band basically takes everyone who shows up (instead of the musically gifted). However, I have read accounts from band members about how the band is an emotional refuge for them because it's a place where they can let loose instead of trying to be The Best at everything they do. Students who have been accepted into Stanford have probably been under a lot of pressure to succeed and be elite, but the band is one place where they are allowed to have fun and not worry about meeting some almost impossible standard.