Pittsburgh, Sometimes You Do It Wrong
At the top of the list of ways that this year was nothing like last year, we finally made it to Kennywood. Once. The whole summer. Last year we had season passes, so you can imagine how conversations at our house have gone.
"Mom, I'm hungry. Can I have a snack and can we go to Kennywood?"
"Alexis, clean up the table, please." "Only if we can go to Kennywood."
"Mom, can we go to Paris? No? What about Kennywood?"
I'm not kidding. All of those conversations actually happened.
But at last we came around and decided to act like good parents who take their kids fun places. Alexis was, of course, overjoyed. That's putting it mildly. She strutted around with a grin on her face as she drug us from roller coaster to roller coaster.
Somewhere along the line, one thing led to another and we ended up making it to the right place just in time to see the parade. Alexis plopped down beside a friend and began to watch.
She sat intently watching the whole thing, but it was the marching bands that really caught her attention. And mine. Did I mention that they caught my attention? BECAUSE THEY DID.
This is the part where I tell you that I was a marching band kid in high school. Because of course I was. I can (still!) play pretty much every reed instrument -- clarinet, soprano clarinet, bass clarinet, oboe, and alto sax to be exact. That meant I was in high demand for all of the high school band things. There are dozens of stories I could tell you about all of those band things, but that's not the point of this all. The point is this.
The shoes.
The shorts.
The polo shirts.
WTF, PITTSBURGH?
THAT IS NOT A MARCHING BAND UNIFORM.
My head exploded as "marching band" after "marching band" sloppily clunked by in their mismatched casual wear because THAT IS NOT A MARCHING BAND UNIFORM. It bothered me so much that they were doing it wrong that I made a point to tell Alexis that they needed to wear nicer uniforms. Alexis is a big fan of matching and being dressy, so she quickly agreed.
As if to prove my point, a band finally marched around the corner mostly properly dressed.
I say "mostly" because while they remembered the ill-fitting polyester pants and the super uncomfortable jackets, they forgot their hats. Marching band uniforms include very tall, very tacky, very uncomfortable hats that resemble Q-Tips. It's in the Laws of Marching Band Uniforms manual on page 63.
As the legit Marching Band rounded the corner, Alexis leaned over and told me that she liked their "outfits" better. "But, mom, they need hats," she said. YES, CHILD, THEY DO.
"And they should have pompoms on their shoes," she continued. YES, CHILD, THEY SHOULD.
"Oh, and I think they need glitter," she finished.
And THAT is how a legit marching band uniform could get worse. Right there. That's it. Future generations better hope Alexis doesn't grow up to be a marching band uniform designer.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Reader Comments (22)
We dressed like this for kennywood too...we'd of died of dehydration in our band uniforms!
So, you already know that I Haven't been to Kennywood in years, but this post actually reminded me that it's been one year longer than I originally thought. 1985 was the last I was there and it was for my senior year High school marching band Fall Fantasy parade performance. Itchy wool uniforms in muggy Pittsburgh September. We were fortunate to be a school w/o the cue tip hats. Instead, for two year's we had cowboy style flat brim with ginormous scarlet, gold and white plumes, and for two years we had police style hats with even more ginormous plumes. I have been to Kennywood exactly four times in my life and hated everything about it. There. My dirty little secret is out. Please don't hate me.
I too was in band in High School (Alto Sax, Bari in College) and I continue to tell my son that being in band was a very good thing for me growing up. Got me to Mardi Gras, Orange Bowl, Peach Bowl and Europe Twice (once in high school, once in college)
But times are different and where it was sort of a given in 4th grade that I was going to pick and instrument, that's just not the way things are in these no-budget times. He's in 7th now and has no opportunity for band available to him. If Alexis has the chance, I would gently direct her in that direction. But you already knew that.
Now about Kennywood and marching. Been there, done that all 4 years of High School (went to NA, yeah I can freely admit that ;) Our Kennywood trip was always the end of the year right before school started and we always went in our current band t-shirts, but I'm pretty sure we had to have jeans, not a mish-mash of different styles of shorts. During the year we wore the traditional too heavy wool uniform (essentially a tuxedo) with the big fuzzy had. Oh we were styling. I do look back on those times fondly.
All four years in HS, our marching band wore the full kit to Kennywood. It was hot and miserable, but that was the norm, just like the Labor Day parade and the Memorial Day parade and all the football games until about October. When I went to college, I continued, and the director liked to have us visit Kennywood for recruiting efforts.
We wore our uniforms my freshman year, but then in my sophomore year, we got new uni's and in order to keep them looking new, we went with the band shirt/khaki short/sneakers look - sometimes with a band baseball hat. I'm not saying we started the trend, but it has picked up a lot in recent years, and I noticed the same thing at Kennywood a few weeks ago - uniforms were the exception.
I'd bet that some of it comes from helicopter parents and shady kids complaining of "heatstroke" making the director just take the easy way out.
My oldest is in marching band this year for the first time. I was surprised to see that it I a lot like joining a religion... A lot of rules and traditions! In the summer their uniform is a khaki shorts and a band polo combo. Not coming from a band back ground I find this acceptable... But even I know a band has too match!!!
When we marched in the Fall Fantasy Parade we worn the WHOLE uniform. Polyester pants and jacket, uncomfortable shoes, and the plastic hat. Ah, memories.
They usually have hats - they wear them at games. They aren't the q-tip kind, but they have the giant feather, which makes up for it. And look at that - both of my kids appearing in the same photo. It's a miracle!
But wait! My brain is not working properly and somehow mashed up the first photo with the last and they are not in the same photo. Unless that's her hand. I need more sleep.
My husband spent some time as a director at one of the local high school marching bands and he was stunned, his first year, when the kids started partially stripping out of their uniforms after their halftime show. This was while still sitting on the field bleachers and playing. Jackets were coming off. Colorguard were allowing the top-half of the uniform to hang down, just wearing the underneath tee-shirts. He put the kibosh on that very quickly. Needless to say.....he was once a member of that uniformed-at-Kennywood band you show up there!
My guess is budget cuts AND pandering to the "lowest common denominator" (meaning one kid complains their pants don't fit, and a few parents complain they fear their kid might pass out in the heat, and another is allergic to polyester.... and suddenly the band director says "Okay polos and khakis...")
Pomp and circumstance, and band regalia - apparently so last century.
I as well marched at Kennywood in full regalia circa 1995. And as hot and miserable as it was I was proud of it. Played trombone 4th-12th grades and was drum major from 10th-12th. My daughter (sax player) marched 8/14/13 in black dickies, black shoes, and red band shirt. While I think it's lame at least everyone else in the band was wearing the same thing!
Hey Jeff from NA! I too am an NA grad and as I recall we always wore the uniforms and q-tip hats. During the day we had to wear the band t-shirt for that particular year. However, for marching we wore the full uniform and sweated our fannies off - it was kind of a point of pride that we didn't dress down. Then we would race to a roller coaster after the parade to get in a last, refreshing, sweat-drying ride before heading back to the school buses and what seemed like the long ride home to the North.
These kids did look sloppy, but in defense of not wearing the whole uniform -- bet those babies are pricey, too, and not wearing them in the heat may save on wear and tear. Having participated wtih irish dance, the schools often decide to forgo wearing their thousand dollar dresses at an event where it is hot or a chance of rain..(parades included)....that being said, something could be done to make everyone look more uniform and less sloppy. Maybe khaki pants and the band tee, same colored shoes? The first pic you posted did it better than the others.
Band nerd here too! Marched 4 years in HS & 5 in college.
Now, I will say that in Summer heat I have no problem with a band having a summer uniform... provided they MATCH. You know, 'cause it's a uniform. Polos, shorts/slacks, socks & shoes should all MATCH. Because it's a UNIFORM.
Oh, and the last couple years I was in college we got new uniforms. And they had sequin sashes. I wonder if that would suffice for Alexis?
I marched at Kennywood back in the day and am pretty sure it was the whole shebang. Complete with hats with "chickens" as we called them. Also did it at Walt Disney World in May. There were a few who fainted and a few who got sick. Good times.
I marched at Kennywood for BVAHS just before moving to Virginia. We wore full uniforms with ridiculous hats. We were also required to wear our band tshirts the entire day. And that particular year, they were awful. People were covering them up as much as possible.
Chris - good god you are probably right. But then it was over 30 years ago and those brain cells are probably on life support. :) If you remember the Q-tip hats then if you haven't seen them in a while, you can appreciate that they are more of a drum and bugle corp now. From what I understand, no more color change on the uniforms, no more memorizing the music. No more end zone to end zone company fronts.
Bethel Park Band Geek here... we wore our band t-shirts during the day with black shorts, and full uni (including q-tip hats and spats for our shoes) for the parade. It was hot and miserable, but it was a point of pride. Those heavy double-knit (is there such a thing as octuple knit? if so, those were it.) polyester uniforms were great on chilly October nights. Not so much in late August. Best part about the q-tips? Lots of storage space for "squad snacks" for games. (And we also carried clear plastic covers for the hats in case it rained/snowed. just tucked 'em up in there.)
Like Kristin, I'm a Bethel Park Band Geek and completely agree with all she said. I was forming my comment in my head while reading, until I hit her comment and just nodded along. :-) I don't know what years she is referring to, but it sounds right on with the years I performed with BP (Fall '94- Spring '97) We wore our current band t-shirts during the day, and put on full uniform including hats for the parade. In fact, I can only remember one time we didn't wear our uniforms for a performance, and I believe it was mostly due to the fact that they were in the process of getting new uniforms, and the old ones had already been recovered from the students in preparation for them to go somewhere else. We wore khaki shorts, band t-shirts, and usual marching shoes for that parade. (I believe it was Memorial Day, and I'm not positive of the uniform memory, as I don't actually recall wearing new uniforms ever, unless that was my senior year that it happened...)
I also agree with jcubed03 - we also marched at Disney a few times, Myrtle Beach, and Atlanta, GA, and there were often a few people each marching performance that would either faint, or need ice water dumped on them to prevent further injury from the heat. It goes with the territory!
Finally, back to Kristin's comment: Yep, we loved those huge q-tip hats for storing things. I don't know what the deal with that was, though, as I know I didn't agree with food/candy/sweet drinks going along with playing an instrument...or maybe I was just young and less strict about that rule back then. :-)
Fun times!
i adore parades and appreciate a band in full uniform. matchy matchy works for me!
I also marched in the kennywood parades, with our BLACK wool pants, mustard yellow jackets with a ruffly thing on the front, black flocked hats and you better have your feather stuck on the top!!! our shoes were white patent leather, had to wear those too. loved being in marching band. played the clarinet! hi fellow band geeks! :)
I had to laugh while reading this, because I had the same reactions during the Fall Fantasy parade I saw this year. When I was in the band, we had to wear our uniforms, but since it was so hot, we were exempt from wearing our shakos. I was disappointed with the shorts/shoes/shirts that I saw with most of the bands.
I also tend to be highly critical of marching band lines, too. As someone who had straight lines drilled into her core for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and the Pasadena Rose Bowl parade, I go a little crazy when I see a band marching along with crooked lines.
Once a band geek, always a band geek.