re: Their band was louder, has a xylophone section and marching ballerinas

i was in tigerband for 4 years in the 90's. long time ago, but same size band back then. when i was in the band there were alot of people that didnt play during the halftime show (shocker: 'faking' it). I think the reason is that the music and show changes every couple of weeks. though we practice alot, it really is a challenge to memorize all the songs and memorize all the moves/steps in that relatively brief time. practice was pretty much every day of the week. as i recall, and hour and a half. we would always start practice with a good 15-20 minutes of pre-game repetition. that leaves as little as about 5-6 hrs to learn and memorize all new music and all the steps/moves involved.

im not sure how jacksonville st were able to get so much louder. im guessing most/all of their members are actually playing. im wondering if they have their music longer and therefore actually memorize all of it. or maybe they play the same show for more weeks. or maybe they put in more hours. i really dont have a clue, but it was definitely noticeable.