Recorded Music at Lynah During Merrimack Games

[Jeff Hopkins '82]

I was kind-of bummed to have no cowbell on Friday, so I too want to thank Age for his cowbell solo.

[marty]

Recorded music as background noise, though, is exactly what Lynah does not need (and what is so lousy about the experience at many other college and all professionals venues).

I went to a San Jose Barracudas (AHL) game last night and could barely hear myself think with the volume of the recorded music.  The game was entertaining and reasonably cheap but I'm not sure I'd go again given all the pointless noise.  Please let cornell hockey never turn into that.

(And yes, I am apparently getting old. But I would have said the same thing twenty years ago.)

Sounds like the Achilles heel of the ECAC.

We'll be there Saturday - my wife with ear protection - and I'll be worrying about losing my cool listening to the dreck over their "improved" sound system. Lynah will never sink to that level.

[KeithK]

Recorded music as background noise, though, is exactly what Lynah does not need (and what is so lousy about the experience at many other college and all professionals venues).

I went to a San Jose Barracudas (AHL) game last night and could barely hear myself think with the volume of the recorded music.  The game was entertaining and reasonably cheap but I'm not sure I'd go again given all the pointless noise.  Please let cornell hockey never turn into that.

(And yes, I am apparently getting old. But I would have said the same thing twenty years ago.)

Sounds like the Achilles heel of the ECAC.

We'll be there Saturday - my wife with ear protection - and I'll be worrying about losing my cool listening to the dreck over their "improved" sound system. Lynah will never sink to that level.

Further evidence that I'm getting old: I don't remember the noise from my couple of trips to Achilles back in the day. So either I've forgotten or it didn't bother me as much.  Then again, I was probably busy screaming my head off at those games, something I don't do at a random minor league game.

[Trotsky]

The only noise there's been when I've been at Achilles is the hundred or so feral redneck offspring that run around loose while their parents get lit in the restrooms.

[RichH]

I can't add too much more from a bandie's perspective than Mr. Marks's post. Through my days in the band, there were always "who can make it back" e-mails from band managers for the games over break, and I always assumed there was communication well in advance if we had enough in numbers, due to ticket distribution and planning. We always were able to cobble together 10-20 at least, and my one and only experience conducting was for a mid-break game. I'm pretty sure I came back as an alumnus to sit-in when needed. To address another suggestion, we always made fun of schools that would bring in local high school talent like UVM and Harvard, mainly because we didn't have that problem.

Here's my question: Why do we even need any canned music at all, even in the extremely rare event of a missing band? I'm proud that up until now, Lynah has NOT resorted to playing Jock Jamz. And it pleases me greatly that the participants here feel the same way. A HUGE irritant for me these days at other ECAC arenas is the insistence that even with TWO BANDS in the building there still needs to be a DJ with "YALL READY FOR THIS" and "Katie Perry's greatest pop tunes" booming to have a turn. There are two bands. Let them play.

I remember canned music being used for Women's games in the era where Cornell didn't have a good team and had very low attendance. The band did play for some, but not all the Women's games.

[KGR11]

I wanted to add some points on band leadership:

A. The new pep band manager's term begins on New Year's Day. From the attendance lists sent out to the band's listserv, she was not at the games. In such instances, the former pep band manager would be "in charge" at the games (he was there). In my opinion, it should be job of a manager, past or present, to inform athletics/Arthur that the band will be there and if we plan to do anything out of the ordinary. (Example: As manager, I coordinated with Arthur via e-mail that the band would play the German national anthem as Krueger did his senior lap).
B. The pep band conductors' term begins at the beginning of each semester. From the attendance lists sent out to the band's listserv, no current or former conductor was at the game. The job of the conductor during the game is to go according to schedule the Arthur hands them when the band gets there . This hand-off gives the conductor the opportunity to tell Arthur that the band would NOT play the anthems.


I see two potential areas for problems:
1. The conductor had no Lynah-conducting experience and most likely had never conducted the band in public. There's a lot of things to keep track of and it's very easy for anyone to get frazzled and make mistakes (i.e. not playing an anthem). This is why I always thought fall conductors had it easier: instead of being thrown into Lynah for your first handful of events, you start off with less stressful events like sprint football and field hockey.
2. Potential failure to communicate between the former and current manager, the conductor, and athletics/Arthur. This is part of the headache with games over break plus a change in leadership.

Another thing to keep in mind: the band has a short memory because there's complete turnover every four years. It's tempting to say: "Why don't you handle games over break the way you did last time?" The reason is that the last time the band at Lynah this early in the year was against Niagara in 2008 and 2009.

Additionally, if you have any comments you would like to address to band leadership, you can find their e-mail addresses here: http://pepband.bigredbands.org/board.php

[Scersk '97]

B. The pep band conductors' term begins at the beginning of each semester. From the attendance lists sent out to the band's listserv, no current or former conductor was at the game. The job of the conductor during the game is to go according to schedule the Arthur hands them when the band gets there . This hand-off gives the conductor the opportunity to tell Arthur that the band would NOT play the anthems.

There's a schedule? "What a difference in this generation!"

"Back in my day," I just relied on my years of experience (as a townie) with ACM's habitual announcing rhythms...

(My only critique of current practice? Start cheers more quickly, allowing less dead space and clueing ACM in on when you intend to play and when you intend to stay silent; i.e., if you're going to play a cheer, be decisive and do it—don't dick around, as is the current habit.)

(Oh, I lied about having only one critique. My others? (1) Play cheers more frequently, particularly on the road. (2) TUNE! (3) Don't play up the octave if you can't... trumpets.)

[Trotsky]

"What a difference in this generation!"

Now that takes me back.

[KGR11]

B. The pep band conductors' term begins at the beginning of each semester. From the attendance lists sent out to the band's listserv, no current or former conductor was at the game. The job of the conductor during the game is to go according to schedule the Arthur hands them when the band gets there . This hand-off gives the conductor the opportunity to tell Arthur that the band would NOT play the anthems.

There's a schedule? "What a difference in this generation!"

"Back in my day," I just relied on my years of experience (as a townie) with ACM's habitual announcing rhythms...

(My only critique of current practice? Start cheers more quickly, allowing less dead space and clueing ACM in on when you intend to play and when you intend to stay silent; i.e., if you're going to play a cheer, be decisive and do it—don't dick around, as is the current habit.)

(Oh, I lied about having only one critique. My others? (1) Play cheers more frequently, particularly on the road. (2) TUNE! (3) Don't play up the octave if you can't... trumpets.)

Yeah, experienced conductors didn't really need it. It did help for unusual games, such as when ACM needed to announce the teddy bear toss or senior night.

For cheer quickness, I was a big fan of counting off a cheer during a delayed icing. "One, Two, Three" "Four". Man we could play a lot during those stoppages.

[ugarte]

Another thing to keep in mind: the band has a short memory because there's complete turnover every four years. It's tempting to say: "Why don't you handle games over break the way you did last time?" The reason is that the last time the band at Lynah this early in the year was against Niagara in 2008 and 2009.

write a protocol! later bands can amend it as they see fit - they can do this every year! - but someone should take the time to get make the institutional memory more than just word of mouth.

[jtwcornell91]

Another thing to keep in mind: the band has a short memory because there's complete turnover every four years. It's tempting to say: "Why don't you handle games over break the way you did last time?" The reason is that the last time the band at Lynah this early in the year was against Niagara in 2008 and 2009.

write a protocol! later bands can amend it as they see fit - they can do this every year! - but someone should take the time to get make the institutional memory more than just word of mouth.

Bonus points if you put the title "CCT Pep Band  Playlist" on the top.

[andyw2100]

Just to follow up on this, I did call and speak to Sue on Monday. I did wind up sending an email message to Anita Brenner and Matt Coats. I heard back from Matt very quickly, and my take on it is that he will take my opinion into consideration when making decisions about this kind of thing in the future.

That being said, I expect there is only so much consideration he should give to just one person's opinion. If some of you feel similarly to the way I do, it would probably be helpful if you let Matt (or Matt and Anita) know. You can find contact information for both of them here:

https://www.cornell.edu/search/?tab=people

If you agree that Lynah is not the place for recorded music, but don't take a few minutes to send a quick email message or make a quick call, the next time you hear "Sweet Caroline" blasting over the PA system at Lynah it really will be ALL YOUR FAULT! (Okay, maybe not all, but you get the idea.)

Seriously--please let Matt and Anita know how you feel. I really think doing so may make a difference.

Thanks!