"Band geeks," "band nerds" or as Mean Girls like to refer to us "sexually active band geeks." Each school has at least 80 kids that fall into that category. While band kids may be at the bottom of the food chain at some schools, within the band, they're the coolest kids around. From petty drama to forever friendships, band has shaped each one of it's kid into a whole different person. So here are 10 things only band kids (or former band kids) will understand!
1. We have no social life
Don't think that you're going to make friends out of the band or try to join any other club in high school or even college. Band takes up more time than one may think. Between marching band practices, concert band and maybe even jazz band, a band kid is busy four out of seven days of the week. When I was in band, we practiced every Monday from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. then Wednesday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., and then had Friday football games. Once marching band was out of season, those practices were just replaced with concert band practices. So unfortunately, band takes up a lot of your time. But no worries! There are plenty of kids in band to make friends with.
2. Bibbers
While the item may be known differently to other kids, our school called them "bibbers." Bibbers were the black park of the band uniform, the pants. However, it wasn't just pants, it was more like overalls. The biggest trouble with bibbers was when you had to use the bathroom. Instead of just taking your jacket off and pulling down your pants, band kids had to unzip the bibbers then drop the pants they were required to wear beneath the bibbers. Overall, bibbers were just a pain but awfully comfortable.
3. "One more time, I promise" or "reset."
A phrase that band kids hear way too often. When you're out on the field learning a show, practice makes perfect and that usually involved re-doing the same move a bunch of times. After about the fifth time it just gets tiring. Your band director is screaming at you "One more time, I promise" but only band kids know that "One more time" really means about six more times... then another for good luck.
4. "Band-cest"
When Janis Ian made the reference in Mean Girls by calling the band kids "sexually active," she wasn't wrong. In band, everyone dates everyone and almost everyone is your ex. If you've kissed one person in band, you've usually kissed them all. Being so close and together all the time can also bring out some relationships you never thought would happen! Gossip also travels fast with such a tight knit group, so it's best just to mind your own business and not get involved.
5. Seat placement matters
In class, no one really cares where they sit. It's usually just the back and the front, either kids move to the way back or move to the front. However, in band, placement matters. Usually, the person who sits at the front of the section is the head of the section. Typically, this person is the best of all the players and holds a leadership position. The farther down the line the section goes, the weaker the players are. Placement mattered so much in my band, we had competitions to see who would sit where for each different piece of music.
6. Friday night football games
Friday night football games are the best thing to happen to marching bands. With football games, you actually play music people have heard of and it's the time to act crazy. During halftime, it's time to show off what you've spent every Monday and Wednesday for hours working on. Sometimes, the drumline from the opposing team comes over and the drummers have a little "drum-off." It's just fun to let loose some steam and just have a good time!
7. Basics block
The worst of the worst when it comes to marching band. Basics block is when all band kids line up in rows of 7 or 8 and create a box form. They then proceed to march back and forth for about a half hour to an hour. This is mainly just to work on techniques when marching and trying to help people get the right form and posture. Instead, I think of it more as a form of punishment and unnecessary. Your arms start to hurt the longer you go on, they just ask for the same movements but in different orders and it's annoying when someone miscounts or forgets and you run into them. If you enjoy basics block, let me know!
8. Friendly (or not so friendly) competitions
Whether it's competing for section leader, band captain or even drum major, some competitions can get ugly. Friendships have even been ruined by petty competitions within the band. Typically, most band kids dream of being the band's "drum major." The drum major is the guy who stands at the front of the band and waves his hands around, his job is more important than one may think. When it comes around to that time, kids get competitive for a part in the leadership or even a solo. Friendships are ruined and the bad blood begins, but in my belief, competition only makes a person stronger. So maybe it's a good thing!
9. Tan lines.... the worst of them...
During the hot days and band camp days (especially in Florida), band kids get tan lines just about everywhere. Eyeglasses tan lines, tank top tan lines, shorts tan lines, hat tan lines, and the worst of all: sock tan lines. Sometimes it's so bad, that you look like you're constantly wearing white socks. It's super hard to wear sandals, too.
10. Listening to old band songs
One of my favorite pieces we played in band was "O Magnum Mysterium." This piece is very calming and I find myself listening to it quite often. Another song I love to listen to is "Samantha" by Sammy Nestico, which is a song we played in jazz band. Band kids often find themselves creating playlists with some of the best songs played. Some kids even put music from their marching band show in the playlist, too. (I was guilty of listening to like 3 Phantom of the Opera songs when our school chose Phantom of the Opera in 2015)
