Why does LSU not have a big band like years past?

TGBFTL is a shell of its former self

Needs to be BIGGER and more brass!!!!
Would help the gameday experience a lot!
Also some of the shows suck compared to past!

Because of a lack of music education in public schools and kids aren't interested in playing a real musical instrument like they were in the past.

I don't know but when I was in high-school, the band there had probably 200 people in it, now the high school band looks like 20 people.

Ill take Hey Baby over Welcome to the Jungle any day

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It’s the same 325. It’s just not the same directors it was a decade ago. Even under Roy King as show quality decreased the big sound was still there. The School of Music owns Tiger Band now and they made an embarrassingly poor hire.

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Well said. Dr. Jones was supposed to be interim director until LSU could find a top quality replacement. Here we are almost seven years later and Jones is still Tiger Band director. Halftime shows are amateurish and the big powerful sound is gone.

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I've noticed the quality has diminished. Who's in charge over there?

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It's a long story. (For those that don't care about the subject or have weak attention spans, just skip this all together and move on)

It's the fault of the Music School, Band Department and the Athletic Department. All 3 are to blame.

Neither Dean of the Music School (Todd Queen) or the Director of Bands (Damon Talley) or the LSUAD GAS about Marching Band any longer.

After Frank Wickes retired, Associate Tiger Band Director Linda Moorhouse was elevated to the head position. She got into "multiple" disagreements with then Music School Dean Lawrence Kaptain and left late over the summer to take a position at the University of Illinois. (She's currently still at Illinois)

What followed was a series of Lazy "Moving up the Assistant" hires. (Roy King. Dennis Ilinas. Kelvin Jones) None of whom had any previous College marching band directorship experience. (High School only)

Not once did LSU conduct a national search and interview qualified candidates for the position. They just kept moving assistants up. (No matter how "Unqualified" they were or how little experience they had)

That's why there has a been a steady and rapid decline of the once great Golden Band from Tiger Land.

Nobody is coming here to play for Kelvin Jones, just like they were not coming here to play for Ilinas or King.

If you want to correlate it to football, it's like if LSU (Scott Woodward) going out and hiring a high school football coach to take over the football program. No way that happens, but it's exactly what has happened to Tiger Band.

Half-Times can be creative and entertaining enough that fans will want to stay in their seat and watch the show. (Ohio. State, Texas A&M, Jacksonville State, Multiple HBCU bands, etc.......)

With a few permanent changes in the organization, it could happen again at LSU.

* Move the entire GBFTL operation completely out of the Music School and into the AD.

* THE MOST IMPORTANT. Conduct a nation wide search for an experienced Head Director and then let him (Or her) hire the Staff that they want. (Just like in football)

* Put all GBFTL members on full "Athletic" scholarship (Like football)

* Tiger Band also scheduled for Spring and Summer Class meetings to keep it going and not get stale musically.

* Increase size of the band to 350-400 and eliminate all woodwinds. A 350-400 member All-Brass Marching Band would blow up 102,000 seat Tiger Stadium. (See Jacksonville State)

* Increase weekly practice time (Monday 3 hours. Tuesday-Thursday 2 hours. Friday 3 hours) Eliminate the Saturday afternoon practice. (If you prepare and rehearse well during the week, it's not needed)

Athletic Department funds the entire thing, but keeps their nose completely out of the operation. Overseen, managed and run by the Director, Assistants and Staff. (All of whom have extensive College Marching Band and/or DCI Drum Corps experience)

The only purpose being to execute the LSU game day experience and to put on a killer half-time show that people will WANT to watch..........

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Dean of the Music School (Todd Queen)

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Bitch

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Director of Bands (Damon Talley)

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Bigger bitch

Damn I think my old high school band has 350 people. They hired some kick arse band director who everyone loves and somehow made it cool to be in band. They are massive with like 20 tubas and sound like a college band. LSU needs to do the sane thing