re: TGBFTL- what has happened to it?

When I was in the Tiger Band, scholarship music majors were required to be in the marching band. And most of them HATED it. The guy I marched next to most of my freshman year protested by just blowing adlib riffs through the entire show instead of the numbers we were playing. Made for a bit of a challenge.

Bigger stipends would be a good start. With healthy increases for each year they stay in.

For those of you who are serious about helping to improve Tiger Band, three years ago some alumni got together and formed an organization with the blessing of the Band Department called The Four Notes Club. They are affiliated with the LSU Foundation and are now the philanthropic, fundraising arm for Tiger Band. One of their stated goals is to provide a full scholarship for each band member, but to endow 325 scholarships is going to take time.

There are no employees for this group, which is made up of alumni and supporters of Tiger Band. They are all volunteers, and 95% of the tax free funds that are donated go directly to Tiger Band.

Their website is LINK /. Go there and learn more. This is the model that bands like Ohio State, Texas, and others in the SEC have had in place for years, and it really did not make sense to move to a similar model for Tiger Band.

Last year, they took over the band reunion and made it a money generator for Tiger Band for the first time ever. They gave the band a check for $10,000 the day of the reunion, donated $5,000 to pay for the flags that were used by the more than 100 colorguard that were celebrating their 50th anniversary, and sponsored Tigerama at the $2,000 level. Previously, the LSU Alumni Association ran the reunion and never gave a dime to Tiger Band. That had been the case since 1986.

Obviously, there are issues aside from money, and I'm not saying that throwing money at every problem is the solution, but this would allow recruiting of the best players and graduate assistants and for amenities that would put Tiger Band on the same level with other bands.

I noticed the faster tempo too! I hope things turn around! Covid maybe?

Band’s a shell of what it was in the 90s. Went to ND game earlier this year, ND band louder, more entertaining too…damn shame.

I noticed the quicker tempo during the cablecast.
In my estimation, they are trying to get through pieces given the constraints of TV. They are trying to get full pieces done within TV timeouts.

I also noticed, a few times over the years, now, that "Second Down" is often cut short when the offense is playing "tempo" getting to the line quickly and running plays to keep the defense from substituting.

I don't know about y'all, I was still mighty impressed, especially with the first drill of halftime, during the march. That was excellent, and more difficult than most drills that most bands do these days which are often larger shapes with more space.

HS band dad, 8 years.

Its all direction. Our last director left for a huge promotion at Oregon. He was phenomenal in about every aspect, good at everything, liked and respected. Current director is far less talented and has a far bigger ego, and not liked or respected by a lot of people under him. Volume, technique, half time shows, culture. All of that has suffered and it all falls on him. He makes all the right people happy so he probably won't be leaving any time soon. Covid surely didn't help, and there are talented people in assistant positions. but with him at the helm it won't really get any better.

And keep in mind that especially during game son Saturday, some of those songs get played so fast because the students are amped up. And when adrenaline is hight they dont always realize how fast it is.

No problems with the halftime shows except that all of the flags should be purple and gold instead of mismatched colors.

My complaint is that they seem to be trying to phase the band out in favor of that annoying piped in music. But if you think that is bad it is mild compared to the Saints game.

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may be alone in this but I see the band in a quick decline.

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It’s been discussed before here recently; right now we have the equivalent of O running the band. Leadership matters; unfortunately I dont think this is a Woody fix (goes to Tate).

That said, if this is the biggest of our gripes it’s great to be a Tiger.

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The "Four Notes Club" is a sham! It is a way to fund Damon Talley....NOT the marching band! The money they donate (which the marching band DOES NOT NEED....because athletics pays for EVERYTHING), goes to the BAND DEPARTMENT which is where one of the ensembles called Tiger Band resides. The reality is that Damon Talley uses that money for things UNRELATED to Tiger Band. IT'S A SHAM. Athletics pays for anything/everything Tiger Band could ever want.

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Patently false in every regard. Athletics does not pay for full scholarships for every band member, which is the stated goal of The Four Notes Club. The money is designated for use by The Four Notes Club, not the director of bands.

People in this thread have outlined that the best players have to be enticed to come to LSU to play, just like football. So, how in the hell is Athletics paying for anything and everything that Tiger Band could ever want when they aren't doing this?

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Maybe we should start a petition. I don't know how to do that, but I'm sure having a unified voice and clear objective of what we want would at least get our opinion heard and possibly considered.

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It appears that the LSU administration is fine with things as they are.