Question: Impressions of the MDB for 2010?

[MDB11]

Seeing that the team is off to a great start, what are everyone's impressions of the MDB this year? I hope you all were celebrating just like we were for half-time!

Also, seeing Julio's one-handed grab up close was priceless. RTR. :BigA:

 

[Bama1993]

Didn't care for the musical selections. I understand the concept, but there was no excitement. It was well performed, however. The drill was well written, which is Dr. O's specialty. The marching was fair for the first game. Overall, the performance was good, just didn't like the book.

Oh...when I saw the drum majors in grey, I threw up a little in my mouth!


BTW, I'm a MDB alum '89-'93.

 

[Hamilton]

Dr. Ozzello doesn't write the drill any more. The show was great, but as I've mentioned before, the uniforms are hideous.

 

[Tide1986]

Uh...Ken knows only one tempo...funeral dirge. Can "Celebration" be played any more squarely and slowly than it was last night? The only decent moment was the homage to The Concord Blue Devils (1988). Ken has a long way to go in designing shows that appeal to the crowd. Furthermore, it certainly will take 400+ band members to rival the sound of the MDB of the 1980's and 90's under Kathryn. JMO

And yes, I am a Million Dollar Band alumnus.

Edit: My wife, also an MDB alumna, agrees...the drill design is pathetic.

By the way, this post is not intended to reflect on the student band members who work hard to perform the material they are given.

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[jeremy]

I dont think I've really been able to hear the MDB in at least 5 years. They just arent very loud, lol. I remember last year the little LSU pep band that sat on the opposite corner of the stadium from me was easier to hear.

 

[saraelizabethua]

Wow! I hope I'm not this bitter when I graduate in May and officially leave the MDB behind. :biggrin:

So far we're having fun, working hard, and supporting our team! With the new uniforms, it's already been nice not having to sew up torn seams, reattach missing buttons, or try to whiten the old MDB patches on each sleeve.

 

[Tide1986]

Wow! I hope I'm not this bitter when I graduate in May and officially leave the MDB behind. :biggrin:

So far we're having fun, working hard, and supporting our team! With the new uniforms, it's already been nice not having to sew up torn seams, reattach missing buttons, or try to whiten the old MDB patches on each sleeve.

LOL...no offense intended toward you at all. Keep up the hard work, and I hope you enjoy your time in school. The new uniforms look great by the way. One day I'm sure you'll understand the difference between bitterness and honest feedback. Keep up the hard work!

Tide1986 (MDB 1986-1989)

 

[Hamilton]

The new uniforms will not last as long as the old ones did. They are so cheaply made it isn't even funny. I know for a fact that one of the main reasons Fred J. Miller got the bid was due to the fact that Stanbury and DeMoulin refused to make the uniform as it has been designed (especially that awful squiggly silver thing, whatever the hell that is) knowing that it wouldn't hold up. Again, I know this for a fact. Both companies told Coleman and Ozzello that it just wasn't feasible. Those things are made more like disposable meat packing smocks than band uniforms.

Still though, I like the show. And once again, Ozzello doesn't write the drill any more. He's really not even the director (he is in name only). Coleman does most of the day to day stuff.

 

[ART]

I thought it was ok, but I don't know much about music. It was kinda slow tho until the end with the new 2009 Championship Flag. The crowd seemed to really like that part!!! That said I LOVE the MDB!!

 

[RT3413]

Wow! I hope I'm not this bitter when I graduate in May and officially leave the MDB behind. :biggrin:

So far we're having fun, working hard, and supporting our team! With the new uniforms, it's already been nice not having to sew up torn seams, reattach missing buttons, or try to whiten the old MDB patches on each sleeve.

It's not that we're bitter. It's actually due to how hard we know everyone works to put on a show that we - and all that have commented on this are MDB alums - truly feel bad for the current students in the MDB. We know how hard you have to work and know you deserve better than what you're getting from the shows. When the band puts on a great show the audience will respond and the feeling is amazing. Think about the crowd reaction when the 2009 flag came out - now imagine that wasn't due to pandering but because the music you played stirred that reaction.

And the only thing better than new uniforms are new uniforms that aren't hideous. Sorry.

 

[crimsonbleeder]

Seeing that the team is off to a great start, what are everyone's impressions of the MDB this year? I hope you all were celebrating just like we were for half-time!

Also, seeing Julio's one-handed grab up close was priceless. RTR. :BigA:

we're really, really, really tired of the same ol' rehashed crap from Ozzello and Coleman (or whoever is choosing the music). The drills are actually pretty cool---the music is not. Totally respect the MDB and their hard working members, but the man needs to go. I was led to believe this year was going to be "amazing" and "much better", but Saturday my wife and I were both highly disappointed. Playing selections that have been heard 1000's of times before, the newest of which was about 25-30 years old, is lazy and shows a lack of "connection" between the fanbase and the band director.

That said, I thought the new uni's looked sharper than I expected, although the band major's ugly Grey suits have GOT to go---NOW. Really, really, really bad, and definitely doesn't fit at all. They should be white with Alabama Crimson. Grey is NOT an Alabama color.

 

[NashvilleTider]

Speaking strictly as a fan with no band experience whatever, I long to be entertained by the MDB.
From where I sit the new uniforms look good, but can we ever break away from the old styles?
My wife and I watch with anticipation and are puzzled that each song sounds the same, but with a different tune. And what are the designs on the field? Your average fan doesn't understand band formations and whatever is happening out there looks like some mixture of squares, lines, and circles. But nothing that truly entertains your average fan.
I've visited other schools and honestly the MDB is lacking compared to them.

I know the band members are working hard and I appreciate all the effort that goes into the process and production, but someone really needs to understand the audience and re-construct the product coming out.

 

[AlistarWills]

I absolutely loved the way the MDB entered the stadium! Truly cool. Otherwise I could barely hear from my seat in the deck above where the band sits. I could hear playing between plays but very little from the halftime show.
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[RMRJMR]

I never leave my seat at halftime out of respect for the MDB and the entertainment they bring to the atmosphere. However, for the past 5 years that has really been lacking. I admire the hard work the students put into the preparation with the countless practices and drills. Now if we could just get a new director or whomever is responsible for the music and the arrangements more people would remain in their seats. You would have thought with the end zones closed in now the sound would magnify, but that did not happen. Also, the gray drum major uni needs to go to the back of his/her closet or the thrift store. (And the marching director needs to straighten up those lines.) Any chance that any of this gets corrected this year?

 

[Bamabelle in ga]

I'm going to disagree with y'all on the drum majors' grey uniforms. I thought they were sharp! Gray has always been a secondary color to our crimson and white. Beautiful contrast and a fresh idea!

 

[BamaRV]

Anybody know why they moved the band from the back of the endzone over to where they are now (about 7 - 10 years ago)? It seemed the sound was much louder or could be heard better in the other location.

Agree - the gray has got to go, but will give up big thumbs up for the band playing to the east side this game. The sound is SO much better than when they're playing to the west.

And you guys sound great to me!

 

[rgw]

I'm an MDB alum and my brother is in his first year. I thought the show was pretty typical for the last decade or so. Conceptually a good idea but maybe not perfectly conceived. I'll agree that the songs didn't have the right "groove" to them but try getting 400 people to all play that uniformly that way.

It's just hard. Probably would sound muddy.

 

[ART]

As someone else said I also LOVED the ENTRANCE!!!!! That was pretty awesomne!! I got goosebumps in case anyone cares. Isn't that new? I don't recall ever seeing it before...

Again, I no nothing about band or music, just a fan!!

 

[Hamilton]

Anybody know why they moved the band from the back of the endzone over to where they are now (about 7 - 10 years ago)? It seemed the sound was much louder or could be heard better in the other location.

Agree - the gray has got to go, but will give up big thumbs up for the band playing to the east side this game. The sound is SO much better than when they're playing to the west.

And you guys sound great to me!

It was louder when they sat in the southeast corner. Dr. Ozzello was at the time the band moved actually the director, and they moved because it was easier for the band to get in and out of their seats. I preferred the old section anyway, and I sat on the top row.

 

[saraelizabethua]

Okay, so apparently sass doesn't really translate well on the internet... (I thought for sure the :biggrin: would help with that...)

I've been on this board long enough to know that I don't want to ask for an opinion about our performances. Someone will always hate it. Someone will always love it... Even when unwarranted on both counts.

I think I'm going to go talk about some football, now!