At the moment, Band is gearing up for the annual changing of the guard, the induction of a new Band Staph. Band Assistant Manager Liz Schackmann is in the process of selecting a handful of primates to serve under her when she takes over as Manager at the end of the 2007 Big Game. This evening, I stopped by the Shak to crash the "Office Hours" Liz was holding for all parties interested in applying for a staph position. It wasn't the most productive time ever spent at Shak, but it certainly wasn't the least productive (see post on Guitar Hero later this week). Taped to the door of the office is an application for Ass Man by a guy whose Band nickname rhymes with "Nice Rick." I think he is a promising applicant, but Liz thinks he gave the wrong answer to "Do you fold or crumple your toilet paper?" She'll be a tough boss, alright. I'm glad my staph term ends soon. LOOKOUT FROSH! IT'S A TRAP!
Last night the Bonz and Toobz took on the Drumz and Dollies in a fierce game of broomball. (If you don't know what broomball is, you just won a date with Wikipedia). We played a hectic two-ball version; organizing any sort of structured game play divided into periods sounds more like something the U$C band would do. In the LSJUMB, we know that reckless abandon is the only acceptable modus operandi on a hard, low-friction surface. The game was not without injury and bloodshed though; several bandies paid dues to the ice.
The teams were the usual rag-tag hodgepodge of players. In addition to an assortment of current students and alumni, each team had its share of ringers from other sections. (Although in this case the "ringers" didn't necessarily bring dazzling skills or even an ability to avoid falling hard on the ice to their teams.) Team Low Brass scored first, but Drumz 'n' Dollies answered with a goal of their own soon after. The horn players eventually won by a wide margin, through superior athleticism and the patience to outlast the drumz' short collective attention span.
So, for the record, BONZ AND TOOBZ BEAT THE DRUMZ AND DOLLIES AT BROOMBALL ON 10/24/07.
It remains to be seen how many bandies will get out of bed for class in the morning; broomball is no joke, and we will all be sore tomorrow.
Special thanks to Belmont Iceland for being nice to us and having a cool facility. http://www.belmonticeland.com/
That's all for now. Check back soon for coverage of a special forthcoming arrival at the Band Shak.
On Saturday evening, the band watched Stanford Football beat Arizona on the video board in Maples Pavilion, as we waited to play at an event for Men's Basketball. It was a fun reminder of how lucky we are to be able to play music for the athletes and fans of so many hard-working sports programs here. Good job Football, and we're looking forward to a great season, Basketball!
Also, thanks to the Sixth Man Club for feeding us.
The football team will be off in Arizona this Saturday, so the band is taking some time to relax and work on field shows that won't be total disasters. "Not total disasters?" you must be wondering, "What impish flights-of-fancy be these?" Well, as a special insider's scoop for the three of you in the Midwest who managed to find this brand-new blog, we're going to tell you the shows that the band will perform at the next home football game on November 3, 2007. They are:
Pregame: "China Today!" China has been in the news a lot lately, and with an Olympics on the way, that's not going to change any time soon. We know you keep promising yourself that you'll call your old buddy China, or at least send a Christmas card, but hey, you're busy. Don't worry though; the Band will let you know what's up on the Far-East Side.
Halftime: "Killer Robots" We are proud of our Computer Science department here at Stanford (that program churns out some pretty good sax players!), and every year we send flocks of new grads off to new toil in Silicon Valley. As such, we are all well aware of the enormous threat robots pose to society. Come November 3, you'll cling to your loved ones in suspense as you wonder if the band will manage to destroy its metallic would-be conquerors.*
And now, for those of you who haven't seen it, as well as those of you who recognize it as an instant classic, here is the video of our "Marching Cardinal" show from 9/15/07. This was our first field show since December 2005, and we spent dozens of hours learning to march, and even more time in the hospital for marching-related injuries. Those fancy Stanford doctors had never removed a Dollie from a tuba before!
(Commentary by Patchez, Band Graphix Co-Coordinator)
Thanks for watching! Visit our blog again for more Band adventures and various horrors of the internet.
Love, The LSJUMB
*Outlook not good; the band is a bunch of sissies.
Liz and Slater, amid squalor.