[Shotimes] OT outliving a stadium

Donald Mallinson dmall@mwonline.net
Mon, 02 May 2005 10:07:57 -0500


Zach,

I am proud of my marching band years.  Over half of SIU's band is made 
up of non music majors, and that is a lot different than most major 
college bands.  I loved playing music and SIU allowed me to participate 
in jazz band, concert band and more and just have fun.  Don't play much 
now, but still have a trumpet.  Sold my really good Holton many years 
ago but bought a crappy student model a few years ago.  I need to donate 
that to some charity and get a good  horn someday before I forget all 
the notes.

Purdue always had a superb band, love watching it whenever I can get the 
chance. 

SIU's band is more of a jazz band and amazingly enough, up till about 
1974 it was all male.  Legacy from starting out as the ROTC band way 
back when women weren't admitted there either.  WE had female twirlers, 
but no girls in the band.  Funny thing is we never thought it was 
unusual, and the upside is that 100 of SIU's band could outplay 200 or 
more of most other bands.  Why?  BEcause we had almost no woodwind 
instruments.  I played mellophone because it had the Eflat sax line and 
we had very few sax players.  We were more like a modern Drum and Bugle 
corps than a typical marching band.  Still to this day, the band plays 
jazz numbers and doesn't have much in the way of woodwinds, but they are 
about 40% female.  And I guess road trips are a lot more fun!  :)

Don Mallinson

Zach Leahy wrote:

>On 5/1/05, Donald Mallinson <dmall@mwonline.net> wrote:
>
>  
>
>>I have fond memories of Busch Stadium as a member of the Marching
>>Saluki's band as a trumpet, then Mellophone player and finally the
>>announcer for the half-time shows starting in 1967.  
>>    
>>
>
>Hey another trumpet and mello marching band kinda geek.  All hail
>bells you can't see around :)!
>
>I was in the Purdue band for serval years (recently) and we played a
>couple NFL games, but most people don't give a rip that you are there.
> Amazingly at Purdue, there is a lot of respect, even from the drunk
>students...  So much that I have seen a drunk student shut up an
>annoying visitor heckling the band a few times.  That impresses me.
>
>My SHO on the other hand did not impress people too much on campus....
>Until i took them for a ride...  :)
>
>Z