Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home side?


Kenn Rashad

Kenn Rashad

Person In Charge
Staff member
If this question has been asked before, forgive me, but there have been a number of cases where I've notice the visiting band will play to the side where their fans are instead of playing to the home/press box side. Why do you guys do that?

GSU and PV do it all the time at the SFC and it drive me crazy that they do it.

What am I missing?
 
Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

Kenn Rashad said:
If this question has been asked before, forgive me, but there have been a number of cases where I've notice the visiting band will play to the side where their fans are instead of playing to the home/press box side. Why do you guys do that?

GSU and PV do it all the time at the SFC and it drive me crazy that they do it.

What am I missing?
Click to expand...

Kenn,
I think it is a new school type of approach. Most old head band directors play to the PRESS BOX. That is what Doc did with us all the time. Unless there is some unusual circumstance or somebody is pissed off at the other school for whatever reason. I think the majority of bands normally play to the home side. I think it is good to mix it up during the show. Playing to both sides. Especially on the road. SU Band does a lot of that. We called it flipping the band to the other side during the show. But you really should play to the home crowd. That's proper band procedure.
 



Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

Kenn Rashad said:
If this question has been asked before, forgive me, but there have been a number of cases where I've notice the visiting band will play to the side where their fans are instead of playing to the home/press box side. Why do you guys do that?

GSU and PV do it all the time at the SFC and it drive me crazy that they do it.

What am I missing?
Click to expand...
They know their show is not worth a crap so they play to the side where their fans can see it instead of getting boo'ed by the home fans. :lol:
 
Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

staggalee83 said:
They know their show is not worth a crap so they play to the side where their fans can see it instead of getting boo'ed by the home fans. :lol:
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Nah frat. Folks just are arses now. Folks didn't boo bands like they do now. Back then, it was entertainment and folks let go their dislike for the football team they were playing and was neutral for halftime.
 
Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

It's common courtesy to play to the home side. Mississippi Valley State University play to the respected home side, but JSU come to valley and do just the opposite. They're actually the only band that does it. It in the old days valley played to their fans and JSU played to theirs, but different baton holders and came different practices.
 
Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

Bands died a slow death after 1993. Everything after 1993 is just what its a hot mess.
 
Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

Most bands still do perform to the home side. I haven't seen it the other way much. Now with classics it could be a situation like MCC where Bama State always sits on the visitors side so performing to the press box would mean never performing to our crowd.
 
Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

Kenn Rashad said:
If this question has been asked before, forgive me, but there have been a number of cases where I've notice the visiting band will play to the side where their fans are instead of playing to the home/press box side. Why do you guys do that?

GSU and PV do it all the time at the SFC and it drive me crazy that they do it.

What am I missing?
Click to expand...



JR said:
Kenn,
I think it is a new school type of approach. Most old head band directors play to the PRESS BOX. That is what Doc did with us all the time. Unless there is some unusual circumstance or somebody is pissed off at the other school for whatever reason. I think the majority of bands normally play to the home side. I think it is good to mix it up during the show. Playing to both sides. Especially on the road. SU Band does a lot of that. We called it flipping the band to the other side during the show. But you really should play to the home crowd. That's proper band procedure.
Click to expand...

Agreeing frat too.. But maybe it's a classic thing too. I know bands do that mostly in the classics. When all the visiting bands came to UAPB Golden Lion Stadium they played to the home side.
 
Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

I agree/disagree with the sentiment of always performing to the home/press box side. When I was at PV, we performed to the visitor side for Labor Day Classic and State Fair Classic when we were the visitors. I can't speak with any certainty, but my understanding were that we were performing for our fans, the ones who paid money to support our school at the game, and who would likely be sitting on our side of the stadium. Contrast that with when we visited Alabama State in 99. Our side of the stadium was filled primarily with only the PV band, so we performed to AlaSU's home side of the stadium.

I know not performing to the home side makes it look bad for televised games, but I can understand the rationale.
 
Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

I guess it depends on the band director. Not that I agree with it but JSU typically performs to our side. At the Southern Heritage Classic, JSU always performs to the JSU side but TNState always performs to the pressbox.
 
Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

Perform to your side unless it's on TV.

If I pay tickets to attend a football game for JSU, I don't want to see the backs of my band. I want to see their performance, the Jsettes, etc from the front.
 
Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

southsuburbs said:
Perform to your side unless it's on TV.

If I pay tickets to attend a football game for JSU, I don't want to see the backs of my band. I want to see their performance, the Jsettes, etc from the front.
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i actually think we should give the home side (even in Memphis when TNState is the home team) the full effect of the BOOM. Some of those people may have never seen the BOOM. We have.
 
Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

Tigerpride said:
i actually think we should give the home side (even in Memphis when TNState is the home team) the full effect of the BOOM. Some of those people may have never seen the BOOM. We have.
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Well then they should sit their asses on JSU's side or look on the jumbotron. :lol:
 
Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

Who made up the notion that a visiting band has to play to the home side? That makes no sense. If I were a visitor and travelled hundreds of miles, I'd want to see MY band face to face, not my face to their back.
 



Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

JayRob said:
Who made up the notion that a visiting band has to play to the home side? That makes no sense. If I were a visitor and travelled hundreds of miles, I'd want to see MY band face to face, not my face to their back.
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It was actually the grandfathers of college football who established the tradition in what became the Big 10 and Ivy League. In the early years those games were broadcast on national radio and the commentators spent some time describing halftime to the listening audience. Colleges wanted to include that in their marketing so they wanted the broadcasters to get the best view and sound, hence playing to the pressbox was established as the tradition.

In the advent of television the viewing perspective of the camera setup remains with the pressbox. The marketing concept SHOULD BE even more deep-seated (in my opinion) because viewers can see for themselves and radio remains. In actuality, it makes more sense than ever before for bands to play to the pressbox because of who the target market is. The visiting fans who are already consumers - nee fanatics (or they would not have followed across all of those miles) - are not in the target market.
 
Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

JayRob said:
Who made up the notion that a visiting band has to play to the home side? That makes no sense. If I were a visitor and travelled hundreds of miles, I'd want to see MY band face to face, not my face to their back.
Click to expand...

Somebody whose home band SUCKED!!! So he made up the idea that visiting bands should play to his side too since his band SUCKED.

:smh:
 
Re: Question for you band heads: Why don't (some) visiting bands play to the home sid

CEE DOG said:
Bands died a slow death after 1993. Everything after 1993 is just what its a hot mess.
Click to expand...

That's definitely not true.
 
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