scatter band

n. a group of musical performers, without traditional marching band structure, that perform unorthodox skits and songs at university sporting events. Subjects: English, Music

Etymological Note: The term originates in the way such groups tend to enter for performances: as a disorganized mob, screaming and running about.

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Citations: 1986 Atlanta Journal and Constitution (Aug. 24) “Southern-Fried Football” p. T/02: Nowhere is this attitude more apparent than in the Virginia pep band, whose outrageousness over the years has thrilled fans but has often distressed school officials, anxious to keep the Virginia free from lawsuits. Once during a trip to Maryland, “The Scatter Band” saluted former Maryland Governor Marvin Mandel, who had been imprisoned on charges of political corruption. The Mandel look-alike took the field in a ball and chain. 1993 Tamara Jones Washington Post (Oct. 2) “Taking the Pep Out of U-Va. Band’s Step” p. A01: Taking the politics out of the scatter band is tantamount to taking the pigskin away from the football players. 1996 Karen Lee Ziner Providence Journal-Bulletin (R.I.) (Mar. 16) “Stanford’s mad March” p. A03: They’re known as a “scatter band” for their lack of formation.…“What happened was, we had a band director who was fired in 1963,” says Amit Aggarwal, who plays tenor sax. When a graduate student was brought in to lead the band, he said, “no one wanted to follow, and they went on strike.” 1999 Mark Wangrin Austin American-Statesman (Texas) (Sept. 17) “Don’t blink; you might miss Rice’s MOB hit” p. C1: I’m talking about the Marching Owl Band. The MOB. The Goodfellas of Groove. The MOB is what they call a scatter band, which means its members’ idea of a formation is running around like someone just dropped a hand grenade down their shorts. 2005 Patrick Fitzgerald Sacramento Bee (California) (Nov. 19) “The big game: Band of misfits”: Eschewing the more traditional, rigid marching-band image of peers such as Cal and USC, Stanford’s rowdies call themselves a “scatter band.” Also found at most Ivy League schools and others such as Rice and Virginia, scatter bands “can the charade of military lock step and run onto the field in a screaming frenzy.”

Posted 21 Nov 05 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

The term “scramble band” is also used; it may be more commonly associated with the Ivy League bands (except for Cornell).

by thenightfly42 09 Dec 05, 0605 GMT