The NCAA tournament is about basketball but also so much more: the fans, bands, cheerleaders, etc. The East Regional is coming to Washington, DC this weekend and we could not be more excited to be there in person! HoopsHD is all over it and covering all of the angles so you can look forward to a cascade of coverage in the days ahead. Jon Teitel starts us off by chatting with LSU Bengal Brass member Jacie Shreve about being in the band and her prediction for Friday night.
What is the atmosphere like at LSU this week now that you are in the Sweet 16? LSU is buzzing!! Our team making it to the Sweet 16 is awesome, plus our gymnastics team was named SEC Champions this week! I also work in the athletic department and everyone is so busy trying to make all of the arrangements for our awesome team. I think it has brought on a bigger sense of family across campus when you see everyone getting together to watch our team go far.
What made you choose LSU for college? My grandparents/dad all went to LSU. Though I grew up in north Texas I was always making the trips to Baton Rouge with my family to go to football/baseball/basketball games. It was a no-brainer for me!
What instrument do you play, and how did you 1st get into playing it? I first started playing flute when I was 11 and transitioned to piccolo during my sophomore year of high school. I was unable to participate in athletics so I channeled my energy into learning an instrument. I looked up to my babysitter who was in high school band and went on to play in the LSU Tiger Band.
What kind of music does the band play at LSU home games, and will we see your group do anything extra-special for the NCAA tourney this weekend? Tiger Band plays a variety of music for football games both in the stands and on our field thanks to our creative directors/graduate assistants/members. We play our favorite classics like “Take On Me” and “Boogie Down” (part of our “Boogie Trifecta”), but we also play some newer songs like “Right Above It” and “All of the Lights”. The Bengal Brass Pep Band learns more intricate arrangements like the brass band rendition of “Sweet Dreams” and “I Like It” by Cardi B. We also perform a medley of our school songs before home basketball games which involve huge bass drums, a drum rack, and our awesome spirit squad members. I would love to do that at the tournament…but I do not think that our drums will fit on the plane!
What is your favorite song to play, and why? My all-time favorite song to play is “Right Above It”! We all go hard on that song and I think it really makes a difference with the crowd, specifically our student section.
What do you think the role of a college band is today, and how much time/energy is involved? I think the college band is extremely important on campus and within an athletic department. Tiger Band is present not only in the stands and on the field for football games, but we also perform a pep rally in our arena after marching through campus on our way to the football stadium. We practice an hour and a half 4 days/week leading up to a 2-3 hour practice on game days. During my 4 years in the band I have meet so many awesome people. Playing with your friends makes all the difference: it does not feel like we are working hard but we still put out a great product to LSU fans throughout game day.
How does the band decide who gets to go to DC, and what does it mean to you to see your group doing their thing in front of a national TV audience? Our director (Dr. Kelvin Jones) selects the final 30 from all of the Bengal Brass Pep Band members. It is based on attendance and involvement during the game. I have always watched March Madness at home so when people send screenshots of me screaming my head off it is wild! I love that we can hype up the team and be the support when not a lot of students can make it out to the tournament location.
What has been your favorite moment so far this season: beating Kentucky, beating Tennessee, Senior Night, other? This is a loaded question! Watching LSU beat Kentucky on TV was so exciting: my roommate thought something was wrong when I started making a commotion in our apartment. I was working the Tennessee game (not playing in the pep band) so getting to witness the anticipation leading up to that game until the final missed shot by Tennessee was the best feeling in the world! However, Senior night was the best because my friend/fellow piccolo player and I were both playing our last regular season game together (he was drum major this year so we only got to play together during Bengal Brass). We both sat through a 2-16 season in SEC play 2 years ago in Bengal Brass so watching our team cut down the nets after winning the SEC regular season championship felt like we had come full-circle. We are a basketball school now!
Any predictions for Friday night? Marlon Taylor will become rocket man again, Waters stays wet, and Dr. Mays will be in. All in all, the team with the most points will win (I really do not want to jinx anything)… oh, and we will be rocking Capital One Arena!