I know that the Cal Band was modeled after OSU Marching Band in the early 1950's, but that was a long time ago and while the OSUMB has hardly changed over that time, the Cal Band has evolved into a musical activity with their own separate identity and style. So, to avoid any discussion on which band is better, my question to those who actually went to Ohio Stadium is: What was your opinion of the OSU Marching Band and their place in the OSU gameday experience?

Wish I could have been there.

Their band was very good and well organized. Their place in the gameday experience was very similar to Cal's band at Memorial. They were very creative and really do an excellent job.

Well, they're all brass and as a group they're far more selective. That's damned hard to compete against. But the Cal band is a great representative of our university.

OSU has a great band. Figured out its image a long time ago and does it better than everyone else. Pre-game was best I have seen, with an obvious exception. Half-time show was a bit staid. Appealed more to an older demographic. Hope they go to Berkeley. It was a treat. Cal band will need to reciprocate their hospitality. Script Ohio?

I think it's the pinnacle of a band's importance to the gameday experience. Our band is great but would all visiting fans and home fans be in their seats 20 minutes before the game to see our band's entrance. The script thing is one of the great signature traditions of college football. I don't know that there is another band tradition that compares.

I was impressed by them, and I'm not much of a band guy in general. I thought there were many similarities to our band, but each has their own style.

I liked when they spelled out "Ohio" and marched in a single file line "through" each other.

And major props to them for playing our fight song on the field just before kickoff- great respect for that. The Cal Straw Hat Band seemed to really enjoy their performances as well.

My favorite part was the OSU band showing a lot of class doing a script "Cal" at the start of their pre-game show.

Band lines were crisp, turns sharp. They sat in the opposite endzone, and they seemed really loud when they played, almost like they had some sort of electronic mikes amplifying the sound. It would be fun to have a band-off if the whole OSU band can travel to Berkeley in a year.

Script Ohio and dotting the I is the best tradition in college football.

They were great.

Cal Geek;841952126 said:

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My favorite part was the OSU band showing a lot of class doing a script "Cal" at the start of their pre-game show.

Band lines were crisp, turns sharp. They sat in the opposite endzone, and they seemed really loud when they played, almost like they had some sort of electronic mikes amplifying the sound. It would be fun to have a band-off if the whole OSU band can travel to Berkeley in a year.

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They definately had mikes to amplify. However, the stadium carries sound really well. Could hear the Straw Hat band. Of course, the stadium went dead silent when Cal scored. Best feeling in the world.

I was very impressed with their band. I am not a band expert, but it seems like they were very crisp musically, and certainly during the pre-game their marching appeared very precise, with sharp lines.

However, during the halftime show their lines were a bit sloppy.

OSU Marching Band Pregame videos:

(Part 1)
(Part 2)
(Part 3)

They play Fight for California in Part 1

OskiDeLaHoya;841952151 said:

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OSU Marching Band Pregame videos:

(Part 1)
(Part 2)
(Part 3)

They play Fight for California in Part 1

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Thanks for the links. That band is impressive. Very impressive.

About an hour and 1/2 before every home game the Ohio State band goes to St. John's Arena (the old basktball arena) and puts on a concert in front of 15,000 chering fans.

Yes, script Ohio, but don't dot the "I" for them. Let one of THEIR band members run out on the field and do the honors.

CalBearJim;841952181 said:

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Yes, script Ohio, but don't dot the "I" for them. Let one of THEIR band members run out on the field and do the honors.

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Great Idea! It's an honor to dot the "I"...

I think I'm part of that "older demographic" but I thought the half time show was awesome. For those who weren't there it was a space exploration theme. At one point they formed their lines into the shape of a lunar lander and landed it on the moon. Another form was the Enterprise which they marched across the field while they played the theme from Star Trek. I mean come on - that was great. The formations were impressive, but how they "move them" really sets the tOSU band apart.

Sebastabear;841952263 said:

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I think I'm part of that "older demographic" but I thought the half time show was awesome. For those who weren't there it was a space exploration theme. At one point they formed their lines into the shape of a lunar lander and landed it on the moon. Another form was the Enterprise which they marched across the field while they played the theme from Star Trek. I mean come on - that was great. The formations were impressive, but how they "move them" really sets the tOSU band apart.

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You're BREAKING my (stay at home) [SIZE="4"]trekkie[/SIZE] [SIZE="4"]♥[/SIZE].

#live long and prospero

Got back from Columbus a couple hours ago. What a great experience.

The OSU band was excellent. They might be onto something when they say "best damn band in the land". First rate pregame show, halftime show, and other playing during game breaks.

As far as appealing to an older demographic, well, they certainly appeal to this old bandsman.

I was a member of a small group from Cal who went to Pasadena specifically to watch the OSUMB rehearse and see them perform in the 1973 Rose Bowl. We closely studied what they did, took a lot of notes. and incorporated a number of changes after that trip. If you watch videos from the middle of the 20th century onward, you will see that the Cal Band did try to have a similar look:





Thanks again for the great comments and awesome videos.

I ran into the band directors coming out of the stadium after their practice on Friday afternoon.
Yes, they are band geeks but they take it extremely seriously and anyone who saw them in person at the game can see the results.
They practice in matching sweats and must wear their caps at all times.
Their drum corps put on an awesome show outside the stadium before the game with ultra-military precision.
One of the things I was most looking forward to was seeing the script Ohio and the dotting of the I (this computer will not let me use lower case), and it was a thrill to see it in its entirety from above.
And I asked the director about coming to Berkeley next year and he said they did not have the money for it. Too bad.
As much praise as the people and atmosphere are getting - with good reason - the stadium and setting are not in the same universe as our Cathedral in the Canyon.

Jonathan Waters is an interim director, but after seeing his halftime performances, I really feel he should become the actual directory. Dr. John Woods retired last year.

Sebastabear;841952263 said:

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I think I'm part of that "older demographic" but I thought the half time show was awesome. For those who weren't there it was a space exploration theme. At one point they formed their lines into the shape of a lunar lander and landed it on the moon. Another form was the Enterprise which they marched across the field while they played the theme from Star Trek. I mean come on - that was great. The formations were impressive, but how they "move them" really sets the tOSU band apart.

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You should add with a real life appearance by John Glenn

Their band was great. Playing our fight song and doing a script Cal was totally classy. The band was as close to Cal's as any I have seen.

Our band is great! TOSU band is outstanding and they put on a tremendous show on Saturday.

Sebastabear;841952263 said:

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I think I'm part of that "older demographic" but I thought the half time show was awesome. For those who weren't there it was a space exploration theme. At one point they formed their lines into the shape of a lunar lander and landed it on the moon. Another form was the Enterprise which they marched across the field while they played the theme from Star Trek. I mean come on - that was great. The formations were impressive, but how they "move them" really sets the tOSU band apart.

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For those that wish to see it, here is a video from saturday of the OSUMB halftime performance:

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=tjdDFsBwQA8&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DtjdDFsBwQA8

As a TBDBITL alum I can tell you that the band performs a wide variety of shows every year. While I was in the band (2003-05) we played anything from Disney, Funk, to even Opera.

If you like shows with moving picture formations you might also like the Beach Boys show that the band performed for the first game this year:



(the video zooms in and is jumpy at the beginning, but zooms back out and is fine threst of the show)

Thanks OSUMBuckeye

Liked++

YT "show more" contents [SIZE="2"](halftime spoilers below)[/SIZE]..

Quote:

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This is the halftime performance of The Ohio State University Marching Band on Sept. 15th, 2012 against California. The show was titled "To Boldly Go", which had a "Space" related theme. The whole performance was great but hot spots in the video are:

Space Shuttle formation and takeoff-1:20
Lunar Module landing with flag- 4:00
USS Enterprise- 5:40
Introduction of guest John Glenn- 6:50
John Glenn dots "I" in formed "Script" America 8:20

Well done TBDBITL!

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The OSU band was fantastic, and I could see the connection - how the Cal band was modeled after them.

They are the extreme opposite of the 'furd band: Classy + talented. I loved the Cal script and the halftime show honoring the space program.

They also really get the crowd going at the 3rd quarter intermission by playing "Hang on Sloopy". The whole OSU crowd was singing along. Pretty cool.

I had a great time on this trip and was really glad to get into the stadium for the pregame pageantry.

GoldenYears;841952755 said:

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Not if you consider the possibility that the flag shows the letters on both sides and they are spelling it out for the opposite sideline.

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They do and it was.

By the way, most of the Big 10 bands play the opposition's fight song in pregame, even for league games. The Cal band did this for Washington once and the crowd didn't really like it.

As for Ohio State's band, I like Wisconsin's as much if not more, but that's saying a lot (I did my grad school at Michigan, and that band is great, but while I was there I was more impressed with the other two). Execution and sound quality for all three are terrific, the difference came down to creativity of halftime shows, the interaction with the crowd and other small things.

GB54;841952114 said:

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I think it's the pinnacle of a band's importance to the gameday experience. Our band is great but would all visiting fans and home fans be in their seats 20 minutes before the game to see our band's entrance. The script thing is one of the great signature traditions of college football. I don't know that there is another band tradition that compares.

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One thing that stood out - the OSU band still plays their pregame show to BOTH sides of the stadium, as the Cal Band used to. We always used to arrive early specifically to see the Cal Band pregame. Now that the Cal Band only plays to the student side, there's not much reason for us west-siders to get to our seats before kick-off.

SMB, just another reason why, even as a ex-Cal Bandsman, I just don't feel that sense of urgency to get to Memorial early to watch the band's pregame anymore. Halftimes are kind of meh, as well. The west side is intentionally ignored by the Cal Band, something that every other college band in country simply does not do.

Saying their half-time show appealed to an older demographic was an observation, but a shot. They were great. Also hard to beat a half-time that includes John Glenn and Bobby Knight. No complaints.

PRD74;841952413 said:

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As far as appealing to an older demographic, well, they certainly appeal to this old bandsman.

I was a member of a small group from Cal who went to Pasadena specifically to watch the OSUMB rehearse and see them perform in the 1973 Rose Bowl. We closely studied what they did, took a lot of notes. and incorporated a number of changes after that trip. If you watch videos from the middle of the 20th century onward, you will see that the Cal Band did try to have a similar look:





Thanks again for the great comments and awesome videos.

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OSUMBuckeye;841952692 said:

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For those that wish to see it, here is a video from saturday of the OSUMB halftime performance:

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=tjdDFsBwQA8&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DtjdDFsBwQA8

As a TBDBITL alum I can tell you that the band performs a wide variety of shows every year. While I was in the band (2003-05) we played anything from Disney, Funk, to even Opera.

If you like shows with moving picture formations you might also like the Beach Boys show that the band performed for the first game this year:



(the video zooms in and is jumpy at the beginning, but zooms back out and is fine threst of the show)

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Thanks for posting here.

Dude, we (Cal fans) REALLY want the entire Ohio State Marching Band to come out to the game in Berkeley next fall! It was mentioned elsewhere in this thread that that is highly unlikely due to financial considerations, but, dang, you Buckeyes, make it happen somehow! Think of how cool the trip would be for the bandmembers. Think how much of a west coast recruiting tool it could be for the football team and the university as a whole.

BTW, we will be settling the score next fall, like we did with Tenessee earlier in the decade (I hope).