Why do college bands wear such awful uniforms? Do you think more people would be in band if they didn't have to wear a 16 piece suit which consists of a crazy hat with shit growing out of it? Whoever invented these uniforms and why don't they change, they are a bit old fashioned.You make a good point. In high school I was in marching band for two years. I didn't really want to be in marching band, but it was a requirement for regular band, which I looooved, especially since it gave me the opportunity to hang out with my band geek friends Joynt and Tony, who played the sax. Tony, I just realized, would probably look quite a bit like Kenny G if he let his hair grow out a lot. Anyways, the uniform worked out all right - by the time I had finished putting on my uniform for the first game of the season, it was the last game of the season.
There is a reason behind the uniform madness, though. Yes, more people would be in band if they didn't have to wear "a crazy hat with shit growing out of it" (I love that phrase by the way). But that is exactly the point. It works as a sort of filter to keep out the wannabes and hangers-on. If you want to be in marching band, you have to spend hours upon hours of your personal time putting on this uniform, only to find out that you are now dressed ridiculously and will be for the next 6 hours while standing in front of up to 100,000 people. It is also a filter for intelligence, since putting together the 16-piece suit with all the pieces in the right place requires an engineering degree. I usually ended up with stirrups on my shoulders or spats around my ears. This is similar to the concept of filtering in academia, where low salaries, years of burdening as a graduate student, and dreadful job prospects keep any halfway intelligent person from pursuing a PhD.
Posted by mill1991 at December 6, 2004 03:34 PM
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Some uniforms are absolutely rediculous. I am thinking that its like the fashion industry. Ie it is self-driven. Here in Australia, you will find that most marching bands have rather simple but smart uniforms. Some bands go as simple as having white shirts, black trousers, black shoes, a band tie, and a common style of hat.
Take a look at the British Army band uniforms. yes some of them are nearly as bad as the American High School uniforms. But they have a much more traditional look rather than something crossed with an outfit out of star-trek, half-morphed into the 19th-century clothes.
Posted by: Martin Hartley at December 25, 2004 11:36 PM