“Is that ‘Let It Rock’?”
I clearly remember asking myself and those around me at the Qwest Center that question on March 23, 2009. That’s right, mid-March. Time for March Madness. At least, that’s what Jays fans had in mind after a 14-4 conference record and 27 total wins last season. But instead, Creighton’s men’s basketball team headed to the NIT for the second straight postseason.
Not that it is a bad thing. The advantage of playing in the NIT, as opposed to the NCAA Tournament, is the possibility to host home games leading up to the last two rounds at Madison Square Garden. However, much like its sterilized big brother, the NIT tournament experience leaves much to be desired in the way of dynamic crowd entertainment. (Remember the spew-inducing Sarah Pavan video that played ad nauseum on the video boards at The Phone Booth during the 2008 NCAA Tournament games?)
That means home teams can’t display many of the frills that engage many of their fans before, during, and after games. For example, all season the Bluejays entered the floor to the sounds of “Let it Rock” by Kevin Rudolf. But the tunnel walk video? Scrapped for the NIT. With a storied program like Kentucky coming to Omaha for the second round of the tournament, most likely for the first and last time, Creighton would have been well served to pull out all the promotional stops.
Who stepped up that evening? None other than the Creighton Pep Band, a group of musically talented students who you hear from quite a bit if you go to games but don’t hear about nearly enough.
History
Creighton has not always had a pep band. According to the Pep Band’s Web site, until 1994, the university paid the University of Nebraska-Omaha to have a pep band play for the different Bluejays teams. That year, Creighton senior Andrea Deitchler established the band under the direction of the Music Department. Deitchler graduated in 1995 and started a job in Creighton’s Purchasing department. She moderated the band for the next nine years, during which she provided space in the Purchasing department building for the band’s practice and instrument storage. During that time, the Pep Band practiced on the loading dock of the old Purchasing building.
In 2004, Mike West, Director of Marketing for Creighton Athletics, became the band’s moderator, moving support to the Athletic Department. Thanks to Athletics, the Pep Band’s practice and storage space moved from the dock to the Kitty Gaughan Baseball Pavilion at the CU Sports Complex. Though it was a better place, the band still had to keep their instruments in an outdoor storage facility and contend with baseballs, softballs, and limited acoustics. Last year the band moved again but this time to the brand new Harper Center Auditorium, which is definitely a better acoustic facility and a place to store their instruments without contending with the varying weather conditions that can easily cause damage. West also handles all of the coordination of any travel accommodations for postseason games the band may take part in, like the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
The Athletic department may be in charge of supporting the band, but day-to-day activities such as scheduling practice, picking music, and orchestrating performances falls to the Band Officers. These leaders are elected each spring and represent the band ensemble, a group of completely volunteer students who are both musically talented and rabid fans of CU sports.
The Band Officers, like the rest of the ensemble, commit a larger chunk of their time as students to the various sports and events for which they perform. While basketball players and other athletes have only their games to prepare for, the band is seemingly everywhere, at all times. The Pep Band plays at all volleyball and women’s and men’s basketball home games. When things overlap between fall and winter season sports in November and the start of December, the band might be playing six or seven games per week. With four hours or more in prep and performance for each game or match, the dedicated hours increase rather rapidly. Not to mention the performances at Homecoming, various pre-game events, and travel and participation at various postseason tournaments.
With the long hours and lack of financial benefits, why do these musicians dedicate so much of their college careers to supporting Creighton sports?
Inner Workings
Did I mention band members are strictly volunteers? No scholarship, just school pride. So while these musicians are greatly supportive of their school’s sports, you never know who is going to show up for rehearsal and who is going to play at whatever game is going on that evening.
There are, however, about 30-40 members who show up consistently and create the core of the Creighton Pep Band. Practice time is limited to Tuesdays from 8-10 p.m. at the Harper Auditorium. With such limited prep time, how does everyone get on the same page? Good ol’ fashioned band camp, that’s how! About a week before school starts, returning members congregate for a type of retreat during which they get organized for the upcoming year and practice songs they have not performed since the end of the previous year.
Their reward for all of this hard work? Well, they get some of the best seats in the house to numerous Division I contests, no matter the venue. Oh, and free grub (always important to college students, right?): the Athletic department provides them with food before every game. And don’t forget the trips to St. Louis and other cities for the Missouri Valley Conference tournaments, during which transportation, lodging, and food are provided.
The Next Step
Just like the school’s athletes, Creighton’s Pep Band members have to make a transition from high school to college performance. I asked Patrick Murray, the Pep Band’s Public Relations Director and one of this year’s Band Officers how the Creighton band experience compares to the bands the musicians were a part of in high school.
“High school bands are more structured with an authority figure or director because they get class credit for their time. We are more relaxed because our officers are our peers and we are all volunteers. Our main goal is to create an exciting atmosphere before and during games, whereas high school bands tend to focus on building a more rounded music education.”
But just because it is a relaxed atmosphere doesn’t mean the band doesn’t get after rivals just like the athletes do. While they’re affable with the bands at other MVC schools, there is competition among the musical ranks as well. Particularly at the MVC men’s basketball tournament.
“While we are there to support the team and fans, we also understand there is a great importance given to sounding our best and playing our most creative pieces at the tournament in St. Louis. Before and after games we see the other bands and we are cordial, but during the game it’s not only the players who are competing. It is a MVC Band Tournament, too, in some respects. We want to prove to everyone that we are the best band in the MVC, even though we are student-run and have considerably less resources,” Murray said.
No class credit. No cash. Just some pizza, a trip or two to the Gateway City, and a front row seat to watch their favorite CU sports (and try to upstage some of the Valley’s bigger bands).
Let It Rock
So that’s why they learned “Let It Rock,” right? A few days before the CU-Kentucky NIT game, members of the old Creighton fan message board challenged the band to try and learn “Let It Rock,” to try and recreate the team’s entrance minus the blaring Qwest Center speakers and flashy video screens. In return, those message board folks promised some frosty brews to the of-age band members for their hard work and musical efforts.
The Pep Band was up to the challenge. Three of the Band Officers — Carrie Bose, Paul Bixby, and Rita Arnett — spent the better part of two nights arranging the song, and the band gave it just one run through following the women’s basketball game the night before the Wildcats came to town. And sure enough, when the band busted out the familiar tune (albeit with the brass ensemble, not the glossed-over studio production applied to the single) the die-hards in the sold-out crowd that night in March loved it.
(For the record, the band members are still waiting with baited breath for their liquid reimbursement from the folks at the message board. Sadly, that may have disappeared with the old board. Alas.)
The Pep Band has several current and future goals, including:
- More Brass Players. Due to the nature of the student population, the group is made up of more than a few woodwinds such as flutes and clarinets. What they are really looking for are low brass players like trombones or even other brass players like trumpets. Plus, the Pep Band is not just for students. Faculty and alumni are also welcomed to join. If you have an instrument sitting in storage and you want to contribute to the band by helping them play, get out there and help.
- Trap Set Player. This kind of surprises me. Doesn’t everyone who played drums in their band career want to continue to play the trap set, or at least have dreams of playing in a huge arena? It’s hard to find drummers who are willing to play the trap set, rather than a sort of marching-band configuration that you might find at a football school. Speaking of the trap set, the band is looking for a new one. The duct tape holding the current trap set together is getting old…
- More Recognition. They’d make Dana Altman proud. They want to hang a banner. Like, a banner that says who they are and what they do. They’re always looking to be cohesive, and this includes some sort of uniform. Band member currently wear some sort of blue, but not the same thing (or even the same shade). They’re looking for a corporate sponsor, or someone to help foot the bill for some sweat blue threads.
- Scholarships. The band wants to someday set up a scholarship for the Band Officers, who dedicate an enormous amount of time to the band. Creating financial stability is a long term goal so that the Pep Band can still be a supported entity for sporting events.
- Alumni Involvement. There is also a hope that as the band has established itself over the past 15 years, more alumni of the band can come back to assist the current band at some games. I know that local high schools come to play while the students are on holiday break. It would be neat to have an alumni base in Omaha that would be able to participate in the Pep Band again during some of those games.
As you can see, the Creighton Pep Band has a lot going on. More than I realized. Probably more than anyone else realized. And they need help and support from fans like us to keep their place as an important part of the collegiate sports atmosphere that continues to lose some of its charm thanks to fancy video boards and Frisbee-catching dogs. The band plans to add a Donations page on the Pep Band Web site, to bring in more funds from fans and supporters like you.
Do you have any Creighton Pep Band experiences? Share them in the comments section or feel free to add any great information about the Pep Band that I may have missed!